Canalys: Apple Watch Accounted For Two-Thirds Of Smart Watch Sales In 2015

The Apple Watch dominated the smart watch category in 2015, selling over 12 million units or two-thirds of all smart watch sales, according to Canalys.

Samsung came in second place, while Pebble and Huawei came in third and fourth respectively.

Fitbit, Xiaomi and other companies who make basic fitness bands sold roughly 37 million units during 2015.

“Cashing in on holiday sales, Apple managed to rack up over five million shipments in the fourth quarter,” according to Canalys analyst Jason Low.

Apple hasn’t disclosed Watch sales, but if the company has sold over 12 million units in roughly 8 months, it exceeds the expectations of many for what was initially expected. And with the Apple Watch likely getting more updates this year including new hardware later this fall, that number is expected to grow.

Software increasingly belongs on the wrist, and this is the direction the market is going. As the next step along this path, the Fitbit Blaze is the right product for the company to develop. It is competitively priced and is still being squarely focused on fitness. – Daniel Matte, Canalys

Unfortunately, I disagree with Fitbit’s strategy with the Blaze. That product looks pretty bad and could hurt the company as it looks to try and be more like the Apple Watch but likely can’t. Think of like Blackberry trying to be the iPhone. They couldn’t do it and look where they are today.

While Fitbit did have a tremendous year, if I were a betting man I would bet that we are near near peak Fitbit. A few years from now, I we’ll be looking at the company in the same way we look at Blackberry or Palm today.