2Q16 Smartwatch Shipments decline as Apple loses a huge chunk

There is a huge drop in the 2Q16 Smartwatch Shipments and this massive drop is directly attributed to the decline in Apple Watch shipments. Apple has shipped 3.6 million Watches during same period last year while its just 1.6 million this time. Apple is the only company among the top five to register negative growth. Samsung, Lenovo, LG and Garmin took the remaining four positions and each of these brands gained market share though none of these brands had any kind of significant growth in shipments. Such was the lead that Apple had built that even with this massive drop in shipment, they managed to have almost 50% of marketshare.

“Consumers have held off on smartwatch purchases since early 2016 in anticipation of a hardware refresh, and improvemnets in WatchOS are not expected until later this year, effectively stalling existing Apple Watch sales,” said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers. “Apple still maintains a significant lead in the market and unfortunately a decline for Apple leads to a decline in the entire market. Every vendor faces similar challenges related to fashion and functionality, and though we expect improvements next year, growth in the remainder of 2016 will likely be muted.”

“What will bear close observation is how the smarwatch market evolves from here,” added Llamas. “Continued platform development, cellular connectivity, and an increasing number of applications all point to a smartwatch market that will be constantly changing. These will appeal to a broader market, ultimately leading to a growing market.” IDC does expect to see the market return to growth in 2017 driven by the aforementioned market developments. Exactly when that rebound happens will depend heavily on when vendors drive a better use case.

It is expected for Apple to register bad shipment numbers across the product line during this time as buyers wait for new products. Apple is yet to announce new watch, iPhone and notebooks this year and given that most of these lineups are going to get massive overhaul, potential buyers are holding on to wait for the new products.

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