Apple Watch market share fell to almost half in Q1 2016

Good news: smartwatches are actually a hot item in the tech market, growing by as much as 223% compared to the first quarter last year. Bad news: compared to the last quarter of 2015, however, the number was actually sliced in half. Depending on your brand loyalty or preference, the mix of devices and platforms might be good or bad news for you as well. While the Apple Watch still has majority of the market, it has shrunk to just half, with Android Wear and Tizen making up the other half.

In Q1 2015, there was no Apple Watch to speak of. But by the time the year ended, it rose to meteoric proportions, snagging 63% of the market. In just three months, however, that portion shrunk to 52.4%. This was attributed to the rise of Android Wear smartwatches and the proliferation of such variations in the market.

Analysts estimate that Apple shipped around 2.2 million smartwatches in the quarter alone, while Samsung shipped 0.6 million only. The combined strength of Android Wear manufacturers like LG, Motorola, Huawei, and others, only made 1.4 million shipments. That total of 4.2 million when compared to the 1.3 million in same quarter last year is definitely impressive. But when compared to the 8.1 million of last quarter,

Part of that drop, particularly for the Apple Watch, is attributed to the seasonality, with the holiday gift giving now long over. And with the Apple Watch somewhat well aged by now in terms of a first gen device, consumers are starting to look for more. The Apple Watch 2 is rumored to sport its own 4G connectivity and, perhaps more importantly, a better battery life.

SOURCE: Strategy Analytics