A new research report from Strategy Analytics places Apple as the number one vendor in the wearables market in Q1 2017, unseating Fitbit. According to the report, total shipments of wearables globally reached 22 million units in the first quarter of this year, and Apple captured 16 percent of that marketshare, with 3.5 million wearable devices shipped in the prior quarter — an increase of 1.3 million from the first quarter of 2016. While it’s likely that most of these sales represented Apple Watches, it’s important to keep in mind that Apple also includes products such as AirPods and Beats headphones in its “wearables” category, and the research report refers to “wearables” in general, defining that as “products such as smartwatches, fitnessbands and smartglasses.” The report also attributes the results to a 21 percent annual increase in global wearables shipments, citing the cause as “stronger demand for new smartwatch models” in several regions, and notes that “the new Apple Watch Series 2 is selling relatively well in the US, UK and elsewhere.” [via MacRumors]
