Apple shipped an estimated 12.8 million wearable devices globally in the first calendar quarter of 2019, according to new data shared today by IDC. The wearables category includes Apple Watch, AirPods, and select Beats headphones.
Apple earned 25.8 percent market share during the quarter, making it the top wearables company, and growth was way up. In Q1 2018, Apple shipped an estimated 8.6 million devices, marking 49.5 percent growth year-over-year.
Chinese companies Xiaomi and Huawei were Apple's closest competitors with 6.6 and 5 million devices shipped, respectively, while Samsung and Fitbit took the fourth and fifth places with 4.3 and 2.9 million devices shipped, respectively.
In total, there were 49.6 million wearable devices shipped during the first quarter of 2019, up 55.2 percent from the first quarter of 2018.
Splitting the data up by wrist-worn devices only, IDC believes Apple shipped an estimated 4.6 million devices, up from 4 million in the year-ago quarter. Apple was not the top company when it comes to wrist-worn wearables, with that spot going to Xiaomi.
Xiaomi shipped an estimated 5.3 million wrist-worn wearable devices for 10.7 percent market share, slightly higher than Apple's 9.3 percent market share.
Huawei, Fitbit, and Samsung all trailed after Xiaomi and Apple, shipping 3.9, 2.9, and 2 million devices respectively during the first quarter of 2019. According to IDC, Apple's ASP for the Apple Watch jumped from $426 in Q1 2018 to $455 in Q1 2019.
Apple maintained the leading position as the company offers three product lines; Apple Watch, AirPods, and select Beats headphones. The Apple Watch in particular has proven to be highly successful at capturing unit share, but more importantly dollar share as the average selling price (ASP) of these watches has increased from $426 in 1Q18 to $455 in the latest quarter. Apple also seems to be employing a similar strategy in its wireless headphone lineup as the latest AirPods are now available with wireless charging and an increased ASP.
Apple has refreshed its Apple Watch every year since the device was introduced in 2015. In 2018, the Apple Watch Series 4 brought new ECG health features and an updated design with slimmer bezels. In 2019, rumors suggest we could see new casing materials and perhaps new display technology.
