Xiaomi is the new champ when it comes to smart wearable sales, having captured an impressive 21.5 percent share of the global market, edging out Apple in the process with just 13.1 percent market share. All of this comes on the back of the global wearable segment itself registering an impressive 21.7 percent growth in Q3 accounting for 32 million units sold during the period.
Fueling the Xiaomi growth story is its new Mi Band 3 which has turned out to be immensely popular in regions such as India, Africa and the Middle East besides China of course. In fact, the majority of Xiaomi’s sales traditionally happen in China, or 80 percent in numeric terms though that has dipped to 61 percent during the quarter. However, the subsequent rise in demand for the Mi Band 3 elsewhere managed to offset any damage done, so Xiaomi still emerged at the top of the heap.
In terms of actual sales, it’s 6.9 million wearables that Xiaomi shipped while Apple came up at the second spot with 4.2 million units shipments. Fitbit is at the third spot with shipments of 3.5 million wearables. The point to note here is that the above figures point to the sale of wearable devices and not smartwatches in particular and the Mi Band 3 is no smartwatch.
At best, the Band 3 can function as a smart wearable device that offers basic features of both a smartwatch as well as a fitness tracker. So users get to see basic notifications on their wrist with a few app integrations further enhancing its appeal as a smartwatch. In contrast, and Apple, in particular, the competition is offering full-fledged smartwatches with an increasing focus on the health care segment.
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In fact, one of the most defining aspects of the new Apple Watch Series 4 is its ECG functionality, being the first smartwatch in the world with such a capability. And the same isn’t just a smart marketing keyword but is indeed real, having earned an FDA approval as well. However, with defining features on board also meant a step price for the Series 4 Apple Watch while the Mi Band 3 catered to the masses with its relatively smaller price tag.
