Canalys, an independent analyst company via its Canalys’ Wearable Technology Analysis service, reported that the wearable band market recorded a whopping 684% growth in the first half of 2014 compared to the same period last year.
According to Canalys, Samsung, Pebble and Sony were the top three vendors for the smartband segment while in the basic bands segment, Fitbit, Jawbone, Nike and the new entrant, Garmin took the top spots for the first six months of 2014. Within the smartband segment, Canalys expects Apple's debut, which is expected in the very near future, to redefine the competitive landscape in the smartband market. In the first half of this year, Samsung, the market leader for the segment, released three new smartbands under its Gear series and topped it with the release of its latest model, the Gear Live which is Android based, launched in July this year. LG's G Watch, another Android based smartband also made its entry to the smartband market in the second half of this year. Another new entrant expected to rollout its smartband is Motorola, with its Moto 360, said Canalys.
“Fitbit and Jawbone have very successfully grown and strengthened their relationships with channel partners internationally to grow global shipment volumes. They took first and second place respectively in the basic wearable band market in the first half 2014. Nike’s market share has fallen as it cuts resources in this area, while new entrant Garmin had a successful launch of its vivofit device and is chasing third place. "
- Chris Jones, VP and Principal Analyst, Canalys
“Mobile operating systems and apps must be extensively pared back for smart wearable bands. Android Wear represents an initial first step by Google. It will undoubtedly continue to refine and improve the Wear platform as it has done with Android.Smart wearable bands need tremendous advances across the entire component ecosystem to achieve multiple days of battery life. Smart wearable bands should not necessarily resemble watches, but should instead adhere to their own unique design constraints."
- Daniel Matte, Analyst, Canalys
