• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, September 7, 2016

The number of wearable devices hitting the market increased yet again, but not all wearables are considered equal by consumers.

Shipments of wearable devices for the last quarter reached 23 million units, a 26% increase from the same time a year ago, based on the latest worldwide quarterly tracking report by the International Data Corporation (IDC).

At least at the moment, basic wearables rule.

There essentially are two kinds of major wearables:

• Basic wearables, which don’t support third-party applications. This includes most fitness trackers.
• Smart wearables, which support third-party applications. Smartwatches are in this category.

Basic wearables totally dominated the types of devices shipped in the last quarter, accounting for 83% of them, which is a growth of 49% from last year.

Smart wearables hitting the market actually declined 27% from last year. One of the main reasons is the slowdown in sales of the Apple Watch, as consumers waited for new model, announced yesterday.

Apple was actually the only supplier to have shipments decrease, down a whopping 57% from a year ago.

Consistent with other studies, the IDC report has Fitbit at the top of the list of suppliers. Here’s the current market share by brand:

• 25% -- Fitbit
• 14% -- Xiaomi
• 7% -- Apple
• 7% -- Garmin
• 5% -- Lifesense

Price may be a factor in sales.

Fitness trackers generally cost less than a smartwatch. And Xiaomi, the Chinese company holding the number two spot in market share, sells a smart band for less than $20.

Of course, smart wearables are relatively new and they continue to get better.

The number of wearables will grow from 90 million this year to more than 200 million by 2020, according to a report by Frost and Sullivan. Wearables in that study include smartwatches, glasses, bands, cameras and clothing.

That study forecasts that smartwatches will account for more than 50% of all wearables shipped in four years.

No matter which category ends up leading, all increase the size and scope of the Internet of Things.