Believe it or Not, Smartwatches Are Having a Moment

Turns out, a lot of people are hither for smartwatches.

Market research firm IDC reports that the marketplace for smartwatches like the Apple Watch and Android Wear devices grew nearly 60.9 percent during the second quarter of 2022 compared to the same menstruation final year. Overall, wear tech makers shipped 26.iii million gadgets worldwide during the quarter, a ten.3 percent year-over-year increase.

An interesting shift is currently taking place in the market: consumers are increasingly opting for smartwatches instead of basic wearables that don't run third-political party apps, IDC says.

"The transition towards more intelligent and characteristic-filled wearables is in full swing," co-ordinate to IDC Senior Research Annotator Jitesh Ubrani. "For years, rudimentary fitness trackers accept acted as a gateway to smartwatches, and now we're at a point where brands and consumers are graduating to a more sophisticated device. Previous niche features such as GPS and additional health tracking capabilities are quickly becoming staples of the modern smartwatch."

Most 41.7 pct of all wearables today have an embedded GPS, up from just 24.5 percent a yr ago," Ubrani says.

Meanwhile, IDC Research Manager Ramon Llamas says the rise of smartwatches tin can largely be attributed to a "growing number of models aimed at specific marketplace segments, like the style-witting and outdoor enthusiasts in addition to the technophile crowd, lower toll points, and a slowly warming reception from consumers and enterprise users alike."

Cathay's Xiaomi took the No. 1 spot in the wearables market last quarter with 13.iv pct share, but runner-upwards Apple, which logged nearly l percent yr-over-year growth, wasn't far behind with 13 percent. Fitbit came in 3rd, followed by Garmin and Fossil, IDC says. Cheque out the chart below for more than.

IDC wearbles Q2 2022

About Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo is PCMag'south expert on fitness and smart abode products. Instruction yoga for nearly 10 years has helped her in evaluating a range of connected health products including fettle trackers, centre rate monitors, rowers, smart scales, stationary bikes, strength training machines, treadmills, and more. Angela also tests smart abode devices from her ranch in Florida, including air purifiers, kitchen appliances, and robot vacuums, only to proper noun a few.