Wearable device shipments increased nearly 30 percent YoY in Q1

The pandemic cut both ways

In brief: Global shipments of wearable devices reached 72.6 million in the first quarter. That’s an increase of 29.7 percent compared to the same period in 2019 according to the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker.

Notably, IDC said growth was disproportionately spread across various form factors of wearables. The earwear category grew an impressive 68.3 percent and accounted for 54.9 percent of the entire wearables market. Fitness trackers, meanwhile, grew by 16.2 percent during the same period.

Breaking it down by individual company, Apple again led the way as it was responsible for 29.3 percent of all shipments – or 21.2 million units – during the quarter. Shipments of Apple Watch were down due to supply chain issues stemming from Covid-19 but demand for AirPods and Beats products was able to offset the negative growth.

Xiaomi finished in second place with 7.3 million devices shipped followed by Samsung in third place. IDC said Samsung’s latest generation of Galaxy Buds and Buds+ have been well received. Combined, Samsung shipped more than four million units of them during the quarter.

Fitbit came up short in the quarter. Shipments were down 26.1 percent year-over-year as the company was met with supply issues for multiple weeks. Fitbit also suffered from the fact that it doesn’t have an earwear product and faced tough competition from companies like Apple and Samsung, IDC said.

_{Masthead credit: Subbotina Anna}