In brief: According to an analytics firm, out of 12.3 million smartwatches shipped in the second quarter of 2019, almost half (46 percent) were Apple Watches, further cementing Apple as the number one smartwatch maker, followed by Samsung and Fitbit coming in at second and third positions respectively.
Sustaining record-breaking sales for the iPhone might be a tough task for Apple, but the company continues to enjoy its dominant position in the smart watch segment. As revealed by Strategy Analytics, the Apple Watch took 46 percent of the global smartwatch share in Q2 2019.
It certainly helps Apple that there's a lot of room for innovation and improvement, with each generation of its smartwatch bringing new health features such as ECG and fall detection to its Series 4 model, alongside a separate App Store and the recently re-enabled Walkie-Talkie feature.
"Smartwatch growth continues to soar, as consumers increasingly accessorize their smartphones with fitness-led wearables," notes Strategy Analyst. "Apple Watch remains a long way ahead of the chasing pack and its global smartwatch marketshare has grown to 46 percent this quarter, up from 44 percent a year ago. Apple Watch has fended off strong competition from hungry rivals like Fitbit. Apple remains the clear smartwatch market leader."
Samsung also saw an increase of 5 percent in its global smartwatch market share, which now stands at 16 percent, making it the world's number two smartwatch maker. In third place stood Fitbit, which shipped 1.2 million smartwatches this quarter, 0.1 million fewer than it did in the previous quarter. The analyst expects the company to face stiffer competition from the likes of Garmin, Fossil, and others looking to capture the market for health and fitness customers.
It remains to be seen how the recently introduced Samsung Galaxy Active 2 and the 5th-gen Fossil smartwatch shake things up in the next quarter, but for now, the Apple Watch holds a comfortable lead ahead of the competition.