Apple Dominate Wearables over the Holidays – Apple Watch and AirPods were up to 27% over last year sales. The wearable market in Q4 2020 increased last year and the largest beneficiary of that was Apple, according to IDC. The company shipped 36.2% of all devices during that period, compared to rivals Xiaomi and Samsung who shipped 8.8% and 8.5%.
IDC figures that Apple shipped 55.6 million wearable products during that quarter, up 27% over last year compared to 13.5 million and 13 million units for Xiaomi and Samsung. Apple has never given its exact sales by-products but Analyst chi Kuo said recently that the company has shipped around 90 million Airpods in 2020.
IDC referred to earphones and headphones as “hearables,” said that they become the “must-have device” of 2020. “hearables provided a new degree of privacy, especially during home quarantine but also while out in public” said Ramon T Llamas IDC wearables research directors.
Huawei came fourth place after Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi due to sanctions, the IDC said shipments in China increased by 9.4% over last year. Samsung meanwhile, saw a decline in smartwatch shipments, which might explain why it’s planning to change positions from its own Tizen OS toward Android wear OS.