IDC: Apple still dominates the wearable market with 21.2 million units shipped in Q1 2020

Apple continues to lead the market for wearable products, according to the latest IDC report. The company shipped 21.2 million units of these products in the first quarter of 2020, which represents 29.3% of the total share.

Compared to the first quarter of 2019, the company grew by 13.3 million units, or 23.7% of market share, with a 59.9% year over year growth.

IDC says that even with the fact that Apple Watch shipments declined due to difficulties in the supply chain, Apple has still achieved strong results thanks to the Beats and AirPods lineup — as wireless earphones are also considered wearable products.

One of the factors that led consumers to buy more wearable accessories is the COVID-19 pandemic, as many people are working from home and they need better headphones to “increase productivity.” However, the smartwatch production was affected since it shares components with smartphones, which had their manufacturing process reduced due to COVID-19.

“The hearables category was seemingly resilient to the market-suppressing forces caused by COVID-19,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC Mobile Device Trackers. “Consumers were clamouring for these sophisticated earpieces not only for the abilty to playback audio but also to help them increase productivity, as many of them were forced to work from home and sought ways to reduce surrounding noise while staying connected to their smartphones and smart assistants.”

Right after Apple comes Xiaomi with 10.1 million units shipped in the first quarter of 2020, or 14.0% of market share. Other companies listed in the wearables market include Samsung, Huawei, and Fitbit. Global shipments of wearable devices grew 29.7% year over year during the first quarter of 2020 with 72.6 million units.

As Apple is expected to introduce its first own-brand over-ear “AirPods Studio” headphones later this year, we might see accessories shipments increasing even more in the near future.