Electronics

Canalys, a market research organization, today released a report on the global wearable wristband device market for the second quarter of 2021. This quarter shipments of such products reached 40.9 million, a year-on-year increase of 5.6%. The decline in the smart bracelet market began in the fourth quarter of 2020 and has continued to the second quarter of 2021, with shipments plummeting by 23.8% to 15.5 million units. Shipments of basic watches and smart watches reached 25.4 million units, a surge of 37.9%. Wristband watches accounted for 62% of global wearable wristband device shipments this quarter.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, shipments of wristband watches surpassed shipments of smart bracelets for the first time, accounting for more than 60% of all wearable wristband device shipments for three consecutive quarters. Canalys predicts that wristband watches will become a key factor driving the growth of this category of wearable wristband devices in the next few years.

In terms of different manufacturers, Xiaomi surpassed Apple in the second quarter to become the largest manufacturer of wearable wristbands by shipments, with shipments reaching 8 million units and a market share of 19.6%. The second-ranked Apple shipped 7.9 million units and had a market share of 19.3%. Huawei's shipments ranked third, shipping 3.7 million units in the second quarter, with a market share of 9.2%.

Cynthia Chen, a research analyst at Canalys, said: “Xiaomi has taken a wise move to release the Mi Band 6 ahead of schedule. This device is more attractive than the previous generation. Xiaomi’s rapid shift to basic watches also helped the company’s second quarter Shipments of strap watches increased by 1.3 million."

In terms of wristband smartwatches, Apple's Apple Watch had a market share of 31.1% in the second quarter, with shipments reaching 7.9 million units, firmly ranking first. Huawei and Garmin ranked second and third respectively. In Q2 of 2021, the total shipments of smart watches totaled approximately 25.4 million units.

Recently, Samsung launched the Galaxy Watch4 series equipped with a new biosensor and 5nm chip. Apple's next-generation Apple Watch 7 series smart watches are expected to be released as scheduled in September this year. It is expected to have 41mm and 45mm versions.