Xiaomi becomes largest wearables vendor in 2018, overtakes Fitbit, Apple

According to a new report by IDC, shipments of wearable devices in EMEA grew 55 percent year over year to 6.6 million units in 2018Q3.

IDC said that after five consecutive quarters of decline, basic wearables grew 47.5 percent in 2018Q3 from the same period last year. Xiaomi wristbands Mi Band 2 and Mi Band 3 drove most of the growth in the category. The connected watches from Fossil Group also contributed to the growth of watches in the basic wearables category.

Although smart wearables continue to grow strongly in Western Europe driven by the success of smartwatches, basic wearables excelled in Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East and Africa market in 2018Q3, due to the success of Xiaomi," said Francisco Almeida, senior research analyst for IDC's European Wearable Devices.

Francisco said that the Chinese vendor flooded the market with its low-end Mi Band 3 wristband, which became a top seller in EMEA.

IDC said smart wearables continued to experience strong growth in the region, driven by strong performances from Apple, Samsung, and Fitbit.

Apple shipments increased 52 percent year over year due to the continuous success of previous versions of the Apple Watch, as well as the launch of the new Apple Watch Series 4. Samsung had a stellar quarter with the release of its Galaxy Watch, which was the main driver for the vendor's growth of 75 percent year over year in the smart category. Fitbit continues the transition from wristbands to smartwatches, which is helping the brand to offset the strong decline in the basic wearables segment. The vendor became the third-largest smartwatch maker in the quarter.

Furthermore, IDC predicted that the EMEA wearable device market is expected to reach a total of 43.8 million units shipped in 2022 and a total market value of $11 billion. Smart wearables, particularly smartwatches, will account for most of the market in 2022, while basic wearables still have pockets of growth potential in some product types, namely earwear and clothing.