• by Chuck Martin , December 13, 2019

The wearable band market grew 65% in the third quarter, according to a new forecast by Canalys.

Shipments reached a record 46 million units, with the largest growth in Asia Pacific and China.

China is the largest market, accounting for 40% of worldwide shipments, growing 60% from a year earlier.

Xiaomi remained in the top spot, shipping 12 million wearable bands for 27% market share, followed by Apple with 15% share, Huawei at 13%, Fitbit at 8% and Samsung at 6%.

“Fitbit has fallen under more pressure amid Apple’s price cuts, despite the newly launched Versa 2, which brought significant improvements in order to remain competitive at the $200 price point,” stated Vincent Thielke, research analyst at Canalys. “Fitbit managed flat year-on-year growth, while Samsung, Garmin and Fossil Group all grew double-digits in the wearable band segment.”