Apple Watch is the highest selling wearable in Q3 2017 with a 23% market share, says Canalys report

The Cupertino tech firm reportedly shipped 3.9 million Apple Watches during the third quarter of 2017, putting Apple in the lead of global wearables sales (smart watches, activity trackers, wearable bands etc.), according to figures from Canalys. Plus, more than one in five of the Apple Watch  devices sold was apparently a cellular model (4G). [caption id=“attachment_4037399” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Apple Watch Series 3[/caption] For Q3 2017, Apple Watch sales account for a 23 percent share of the global wearables market. Apple comes in just ahead of Xiaomi  (21 percent) and Fitbit  (20 percent), reports Canalys, followed further behind by Huawei (6 percent) and Samsung (5 percent). Unsurprisingly, the world’s top three smartphone vendors are also those selling the most smartwatches. Compared to their most recent flagship smartphones, sales figures correspond to approximately one smartwatch sold for every seven iPhone 7/8-series models at Apple, one smartwatch sold for every 14 flagship P and Mate smartphones for Huawei, and one smartwatch sold for every 23 flagship Galaxy smartphones for Samsung. [caption id=“attachment_4210401” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Wearables market share in Q3 2017. Image: Canalys[/caption] According to Canalys analyst Jason Low, LTE-enabled Apple Watch Series 3 has put to rest any doubts about cellular smartwatch not appealing to customers. Also, Apple Watch Series 3 has not reached its full potential in Q3 as there was limited availability according to Canalys. According to estimates, around 800,000 **Apple Watch Series**   **3** units that were shipped in Q3 were cellular enabled. “Apple and Samsung are increasing user stickiness and brand loyalty by adopting an ecosystem strategy, which includes wearables and audio accessories. Smartphone vendors must reevaluate their respective smartwatch strategies to derive more value beyond smartphone growth,” said Canalys research analyst Mo Jia. For the end of 2017, Canalys expects a strong Q4 thanks to new models promising boosted performance and battery life, as well as seasonal sales for the Holiday period. With inputs from AFP