Having achieved great success in the field of wearable technologies, Xiaomi achieved an incredible 90.9% increase in sales compared to the same period last year. According to IDC’s statements, the biggest reason for this increase is the release of Mi Band 3 and Xiaomi’s expansion policy outside of China. Although sales within China still account for 61% of its sales, before the market expansion policy, the proportion of sales within China was 80%. This reduction means that Xiaomi has successfully expanded its market in other continents, including Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The wearable technology market grew by 21.7% in 2018. According to IDC, this growth has been driven by simpler wearable devices, not smartwatches. In the report, which stated that the more basic features and lower prices of simple devices were attractive to people, it was stated that most of the growth was experienced in Asia and the Pacific. In the USA, the market size shrank by 0.4%.
Despite the shrinkage in the USA, Apple, a global company, increased its sales by 50.4% compared to the same period of the previous year. The reason for this growth is the release of the Apple Watch Series 4 for sale. Despite this, it is quite interesting that 20% of Apple’s sales this quarter are new devices. The most realistic comment that can be made is that the falling prices of the Apple Watch Series 3 have appealed to people.
In the wearable technologies market, Fitbit is third, Huawei is fourth and Samsung is fifth.
According to IDC, Apple and Fitbit are offering premium products at high prices in the wearables market, paving the way for other manufacturers. However, the health-related features added to smart watches can bring these companies to the top again.