Fitbit sales drop, Apple is the new king of wearables

Apple has jumped to the lead in the wearables market, while former leader Fitbit has fallen to third place.

According to the data obtained by Strategy Analytics, global wearables shipments rose to 22 million units during Q1 2017, which is up 21% compared to the first quarter of 2016.

Steven Waltzer, Industry Analyst at Strategy Analytics, said:

Global wearables shipments reached 22.0 million units in Q1 2017, rising 21 percent annually from 18.2 million in Q1 2016. Stronger demand for new smartwatch models in North America, Western Europe, and Asia drove the uptick.

Apple marked a huge jump compared to the Q1 2016, 59%. In the Q1 2017, the company shipped 3.5 million wearables, which was enough to take the lead in the wearable devices market.

Strategy Analytics attributes this growth to strong performance for the Apple Watch Series 2 thanks to its "enhanced styling, intensive marketing, and a good retail presence."

Xiaomi took the second place with 3.4 million units shipped, 400,000 less than in Q1 2016.

Fitbit fell from first to the third place by shipping 1.6 million devices fewer than a year ago. In Q1 2017, the company shipped 2.9 million devices compared to 4.5 million wearables in the same quarter last year.