Report: Smartwatch Shipments Fall by over Fifty Percent

According to market intelligence firm IDC, smartwatch shipments have fallen by over fifty percent for the third quarter of 2016.

A report released Monday by IDC outlined the overall decline in smartwatch sales of approximately 51.6%. Apple reportedly saw shipments of the Apple Watch drop by up to 71.6% despite the greatest share of the smartwatch market at 41.3% of all smartwatches.

However, according to IDC’s estimates, Apple only shipped 1.1 million Apple Watches in the third quarter of 2016, a vast difference to the 3.9 million shipped in 2015. The release of the Apple Watch 2 may account for some of the decline in sales but not entirely. According to the IDC, the only company thriving in the smartwatch market is Garmin, known better for their GPS navigation systems but which recently released a brand of fitness and health based smartwatches.

Jitesh Ubrani, a senior research analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers, has an explanation for the drop off:

It has also become evident that at present smartwatches are not for everyone… Having a clear purpose and use case is paramount, hence many vendors are focusing on fitness due to its simplicity. However, moving forward, differentiating the experience of a smartwatch from the smartphone will be key and we’re starting to see early signs of this as cellular integration is rising and as the commercial audience begins to pilot these devices.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart Tech covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan_ or email him at lucas@yiannopoulos.net