• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, March 2, 2015

According to a summary of research sources by Bill Siwicki at Internet Retailer, manufacturers shipped more than 4.6 million wearables in 2014, according to new data from Canalys. 16%, or 720,000 of those devices, run the Android mobile operating system. Many wearables manufacturers use their own proprietary operating systems, and Apple has yet to debut its Apple Watch, expected in the spring.

Motorola Mobility is the leader among Android Wear vendors, says the report. LG Electronics’ round G Watch R performed significantly better than its original G Watch, while Asus and Sony Corp. entered the market last year with their own Android Wear devices, Canalys says.

Pebble, one of the first smartwatch makers, has shipped one million of its Android wearables from its 2013 launch through the end of 2014, notes the report. Continual software updates, more apps in its app store, and price cuts in the fall helped maintain strong sales in the second half of the year, the research firm finds.

Canalys vice president and principal analyst, Chris Jones, says “… Samsung has launched six devices in 14 months… leads the smartband market… but struggled to keep consumers engaged… focusing on Tizen (a mobile operating system standard) for its wearables…”

Following a strategy quite different from other manufacturers, Xiaomi Inc. shipped more than one million colorful and affordable basic smartbands in 2014, the study says, including one day where sales exceeded 103,000 smartbands. However, Fitbit Inc.’s eponymous smartband remains the global leader in the basic wearable smartband market.

Canalys research analyst, Jason Low, says “… though the Xiaomi band is a lower-margin product than competing devices… (they) entered the wearables market with a unique strategy… based solely on the size of the Chinese market… “

According to the report, Apple will reveal further details about the Apple Watch prior to its release, expected in April; the smartwatch likely will dramatically grow the market for wearables, says Canalys analyst Daniel Matte.

“Apple made the right decisions with its WatchKit software development kit to maximize battery life for the platform, and the Apple Watch will offer leading energy efficiency,” Matte says. “Android Wear will need to improve significantly in the future, and we believe it will do so.”

According to the report, Canalys defines basic wearable smartbands as devices serving a specific set of purposes that act as accessories to other smart devices, designed to be worn on the body and not carried, and that cannot run third-party apps.

For additional information, please visit Internet Retailer here.