Consumer electronics giant Apple (AAPL) gained ground in the wearables market in the fourth quarter, thanks to its Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2, research firm IDC said Thursday.
Apple was the third-largest maker of wearable devices in the December quarter, with 13.6% market share by unit shipments. It shipped 4.6 million Apple Watches in the fourth quarter, up 13% from the same period a year ago, IDC said.
Apple doesn't disclose how many smartwatches it sells. The consensus estimate among Wall Street analysts was that Apple sold 4.9 million watches in the holiday sales quarter.
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook touted Apple Watch sales, without giving actual numbers, on a conference call with analysts Jan. 31.
Apple stock slipped 0.59% to 138.96 on the stock market today. That ended what had been a four-day winning streak, though early in the trading session, the stock edged up to an all-time high of 140.28.
Fitness band maker Fitbit (FIT) led the wearables market in the fourth quarter with 6.5 million units shipped, down 23% year over year, IDC said. Fitbit's market share dipped to 19.2% from 29% in the year-ago quarter.
Xiaomi, a maker of low-cost activity trackers based in China, came in second place in the fourth quarter with 5.2 million units shipped, up 96% year over year, IDC said. Its market share rose to 15.2% from 9.1% a year earlier.
After Apple, Garmin (GRMN) placed fourth with 6.2% market share and Samsung fifth with 5.6%, IDC said.
Total wearables shipments rose 17% to a record high 33.9 million units in the fourth quarter, IDC said in a press release. For the full year, wearables shipments rose 25% to 102.4 million units.
Source: investors