IDC study shows Apple Watch sales are solid, but Android Wear OEMs are nowhere to be seen

Though Apple isn’t sharing sales figures for Apple Watch, IDC is doing its best to track all wearable sales, and has some details on how Apple’s first wearable is selling.

According to IDC, Apple Watch was the number three wearable in 2015, behind Fitbit and Xiaomi. It’s ahead of Garmin and Samsung — by a wide margin.

While Fitbit sold 21 million units in 2015, Apple shipped over 11 million Apple Watches. At 11.6 million sold, Apple Watch is just behind Xiaomi, which sold 12 million.

Given the reach Apple has with Watch, it’s easy to see it eclipsing Xiaomi in short order — if it hasn’t already.

Perhaps even more telling is that Android Wear is essentially lumped into the ‘Others’ category. The likes of Motorola, LG, Huawei and Sony are nowhere to be found on this list. Samsung is listed in fifth position, but it has moved onto its proprietary wearable OS, Tizen.

The ‘Others’ section does command a 34.5 percent market share — which is collectively better than the rest. Unfortunately, we don’t know how much of that is Android Wear.

Collectively, Android Wear OEMs could have an edge on Apple’s 14.9 percent market share, but that’s unlikely. Five Android Wear manufacturers would have to be nipping at Samsung’s heels for that to happen — which assumes the Huawei Watch is as popular as the Moto 360.

Jawbone is also unlisted, which is another interesting takeaway.

The wearable market is booming, too. All the companies listed in the top five had double-digit sales increases versus 2014, and the ‘Others’ category had a 124 percent hike.

But where’s the Android Wear flagship device? There doesn’t seem to be one, which is the gift and the curse of Android. Variety is delightful, but perhaps a bit overwhelming for consumers when it comes to wearables.

➤ The Worldwide Wearables Market Leaps 126.9% in the Fourth Quarter and 171.6% in 2015, According to IDC [IDC]