The Apple Watch is widely regarded as the most popular smartwatch on the market — but it looks like Xiaomi is gradually chipping away at Apple's long-held title. Since its debut in April 2015, the Apple Watch has become one of Apple's most important products. It's extremely personal to each user, it ties in seamlessly with the rest of the Apple ecosystem, and it's also an enormous money-maker. In 2020 alone, Apple shipped around 34 million units.
As Apple continues to dominate with no signs of slowing down, countless companies have attempted to steal some of the spotlight. Samsung has its Galaxy Watch wearables, Fitbits remain fairly popular, and there are dozens of Wear OS watches from brands like Fossil and Skagen. Among all of them, the one that's making meaningful ground in catching up with Apple is none other than Xiaomi.
In a new report published by Canalys, the analyst firm reported that Xiaomi shipped 8 million wearables in Q2 2021 to account for a market share for the quarter of 19.6 percent. Compared to Apple, which shipped 7.9 million wearables with a reported 19.3 percent market share, Xiaomi officially took the number one spot. While Apple is still the global smartwatch leader with 31.3 percent total market share, it's obvious that Xiaomi's wearable strategy is paying off.
How Xiaomi Beat The Apple Watch
As for how Xiaomi was able to dethrone Apple for this past quarter, Canalys says this increased performance is thanks to the recently-launched Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6. This was despite the Smart Band 6 not launching in India for its initial release, with many of the sales coming from China. As explained by Canalys Research Analyst Cynthia Chen, "Xiaomi made a wise move to hasten the release of the Mi Band 6, which is a more compelling device than its predecessor. Xiaomi’s quick pivot to basic watches also helped the company boost its wristwatch shipments by 1.3 million units this quarter."
Taking a quick look at the Smart Band 6, it's easy to see why it was such a dramatic boost to Xiaomi's sales. The wearable costs just $45 in the U.S. and comes with an AMOLED display, SpO2 tracking, 5ATM water resistance, and a host of other health features. There will always be people willing to shell out $399 and above for the latest Apple Watch, but having a feature-rich wearable for under $50 caters to a market Apple just can't reach with its current portfolio.
While Apple will likely return to the number one spot in Q3 and Q4 with the impending launch of the Apple Watch Series 7, that's not to take away from what Xiaomi achieved here. It's continued to improve its wearable offerings, undercuts Apple's pricing in a way no one else can, and that work clearly pays off. Even with what's likely just a temporary win, it's an important step for Xiaomi to assert itself as one of the biggest players in this game.
Source: Canalys