Global smartwatch shipment grows 20%, Apple leads, Samsung stands second.

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14 million units of smartwatches were shipped globally in the first quarter of 2020. This figure is 20% up from the 11.4 million units shipped during the same time in 2019.

Covid-19 outbreak has had a significant impact on the global tech industry. At a time when global smartphone sales have stagnated in some cases due to the lockdown, the smartwatch industry continues to grow. Now, a new report says that the global smartwatch shipment grew 20% year-on-year.

According to a report by analytics firm Strategy Analytics, 14 million units of smartwatches were shipped globally in the first quarter of 2020. This figure is 20% up from the 11.4 million units shipped during the same time in 2019. Apple dominated the global smartwatch market while Samsung and Garmin bagged the second and third sports respectively.

“Global smartwatch shipments grew 20 percent annually from 11.4 million units in Q1 2019 to 13.7 million in Q1 2020. Despite considerable headwinds from the Covid-19 scare, global demand for smartwatches continued to grow. Smartwatches are selling well through online retail channels, while many consumers have been using smartwatches to monitor their health and fitness during virus lockdown,” said Senior Analyst Steven Waltzer.

Apple shipped a total of 7.6 million Apple Watch models worldwide in Q1 2020, which is 23% more than Q1 2019. The company shipped 6.2 million in Q1 2019. Its global market share grew from 54% in Q1 2019 to 55% in Q1 2020, its highest level for two years. “Apple Watch continues to fend off strong competition from hungry rivals like Garmin and Samsung. Apple Watch owns half the worldwide smartwatch market and remains the clear industry leader,” said Executive Director Neil Mawston.

Samsung, on the other hand, shipped 1.9 million smartwatches globally in Q1 2020, which is 11.8% more than the 1.7 million smartwatches it shipped a year ago. Samsung’s global smartwatch market share dipped slightly from 15% in Q1 2019 to 14% in Q1 2020.

Garmin stood third, shipping 1.1 million smartwatches worldwide in Q1 2020 and capturing 8% of global smartwatch market share.

“We expect global smartwatch shipments to slow sharply in the second quarter of 2020, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Sales in Europe and the US have inevitably been hit by virus lockdown in recent months. However, the second half of this year and beyond will see a decent rebound, as consumers worldwide steadily regain confidence and more retail stores reopen,” Woody Oh Director at Strategy Analytics wrote in a blog post.