Apple Watch captured a 52 percent share of global smart watch shipments in 2015 in a product segment that still lacks a strong use case, Juniper Research said.
Apple’s share climbed rapidly even though its watch was available only since April, Juniper said, while shipments of multiple smart watch brands based on the rival Android Wear OS accounted for less than 10 percent of shipments,.
Juniper also said Samsung’s Tizen-based Gear S2 hasn’t achieved strong sales volumes since its November launch even though it has been well reviewed. “Most other smart watch sales are currently coming from cheaper, simpler devices from a range of smaller players, such as Martian, X and Razer, the latter with the recently-announced Nabu Watch,” Juniper said.
The “continued lack of a strong use case for smart watches means that, Apple Watch aside, the market thus far has been driven by lower priced devices with more basic functionality,” the research company said.” These devices, from the Breitling B55 Connected to the Martian Guess Connected are typically providing basic notification and tracking functions, without an app-capable operating system on the device itself.”
“The smart watch is now a category waiting for a market,” said analyst James Moar. “Newer devices have offered more polished looks and subtly different functions, but no large changes in device capabilities or usage. With smart watch functions established, it is now up to consumers to decide if they want them, rather than technology companies providing more reasons.’
