According to a new quarterly report from market analyst firm Canalys, the North American smartwatch market grew at a rapid pace in Q2 2019, with shipments up 38% year over year at 7.7 million units. While China is the number one market in terms of unit sales, the North American market continues to be the most valuable, hitting $2 billion in value for the quarter.
The biggest winners were Apple and Samsung, with the Apple Watch growing 32% annually and shipping 2.9 million units, while the Galaxy Watch series posted an impressive 121% increase in shipments at 800,000 units. The report suggests that Samsung’s fitness-focused Active series is resonating with consumers because it packs plenty of features and hits the right price point, with the devices priced between $200 and $300.
Fitbit meanwhile remained in second place, showing a more modest 18% annual growth with 1.9 million units shipped. However, the company’s market share fell to 24.1% compared to last year’s 28.3%, but that is still over two times Samsung’s share in third place. Canalys suggests that the new Versa Lite was a misstep for Fitbit, with the device lacking in features and functionality.
Garmin retained its fourth place with 7% market share and posted 15% annual growth, shipping 500,000 units, while Fossil Group in fifth place posted a stronger 34% growth with 300,000 units shipped. The rest of the vendors reached a combined 16.3% market share and saw 73% year over year growth, shipping 1.3 million units.
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