Xiaomi Becomes World’s No.1 Wearables Vendor in Q2 2017

Xiaomi has usurped Fitbit and Apple’s iron grip on the global wearables market, according to the latest research from Strategy Analytics.

Global wearables shipments reached 22 million units in the second quarter of 2017, SA’s data shows, up 8 per cent year-over-year. Xiaomi captured 17 per cent market share.

“Strong demand for low-cost fitness bands in China and premium smartwatches across the United States drove the uptick,” said Steven Waltzer, Industry Analyst at Strategy Analytics.

Fitbit’s quarterly shipments fell from 5.7 to 3.4 million, while Xiaomi’s shipments rose from three million to 3.7 million over the same period.

“Xiaomi’s Mi Band fitness trackers are wildly popular in China, due to their highly competitive pricing and rich features such as heart-rate monitors, step-counters and calendar alerts,” Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, said. “Fitbit is at risk of being trapped in a pincer movement between the low-end fitness bands sold by Xiaomi and the fitness-led, high-end smart watches sold by Apple.”

Apple shipped 2.8 million Watches, up by a cool million over the same quarter last year.

“The rumored upcoming Watch Series 3 launch with enhanced health tracking could prove to be a popular smartwatch model and enable Apple to reclaim the top wearables spot later this year,” Cliff Raskind, Director at Strategy Analytics, said.