Since its launch this spring the Apple Watch has blown away the competition, with 7 million devices shipped in its first two quarters of availability, according to new report from research firm Canalys.
Apple’s massive lifetime smartwatch shipment total exceeds the combined shipments from all other vendors over the past five quarters, putting it in a firm first place, the report found. In the third quarter 2015, Apple was the only vendor to ship more than 300,000 units.
“After experiencing significant supply chain constraints early on, Apple managed to overcome its production struggles with the Apple Watch and is building momentum going into Q4,” said Canalys analyst Daniel Matte. “Shipments are steadily increasing as it has greatly expanded the Watch’s channel footprint internationally.”
Following behind Apple in the quarter was device-maker Pebble, which was spurred on to 200,000 total shipments by the release of its new Time Steel smartwatch. Samsung trailed behind as Gear shipments fell ahead of the upcoming release of the Gear S2.
Going into the fourth quarter, Canalys vice president and principal analyst Chris Jones said the challenge for Apple will be to keep the public’s interest.
“WatchOS 2 has brought native apps to the platform, and new colors and styles have refreshed the lineup, but Apple needs to continue to generate demand six months after launch,” Jones said.
Filed Under: Devices
