Apple continued to dominate the North American wearables market in the second quarter of 2020, with a growth of nine percent year-on-year, according to a new report by Canalys.
The shipments of wearables in the North American market grew 10 percent in the second quarter of 2020, but the value of the market remained flat year-on-year. A boom in low-end activity trackers meant that the average selling price of a wearable declined by 11 percent to $235. The surge in more basic devices offset the United States' third consecutive quarter of smartwatch decline.
In spite of this, the Apple Watch Series 5 was America's best-selling smartwatch, matching last year's Series 4 model for shipments. Demand for the Apple Watch Series 3 also grew by 30 percent.
Recent IDC research similarly showed Apple's ongoing dominance of the global wearables market. North America was one of only two regions to demonstrate sustained consumer demand for wearables with quarter-on-quarter growth.
Canalys predicts that going into 2021, medical-oriented devices will move certain products into an elevated tier, creating much stronger differentiation between casual fitness devices and those that offer advanced health tracking. The upcoming Apple Watch Series 6 will likely contribute to this by offering new health-tracking features such as blood oxygen monitoring.
