Apple Watch surges to ‘best quarter ever’ as Fitbit sales decline

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Apple Watch
Apple Watch is no flop.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

2016 was a fantastic year for Apple Watch, according to the latest info from the International Data Corporation that shows Apple’s wearable just experience its best quarter ever.

In its latest report, IDC analysts say Apple Watch is finally closing the gap on Fitbit, which just experienced its largest declines ever in the fourth quarter.

“Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2 proved to be a magnificent success for the company as it was the company’s best quarter ever in the wearables market…Apple is one of the few companies that has been able to quickly refocus its watch to gain traction in the consumer market and has also been leading the charge on introducing the smartwatch category to the commercial segment.”

Apple Watch sales are booming

IDC notes that the addition of GPS and the lower entry price of the Apple Watch Series 1 really helped sales. Revamping the interface to focus more on health also help Apple reach more customers.

wearables marketshare in Q4 2016

Apple Watch’s overall marketshare actually dropped slightly in Q4 2016 to 13.6%. In the year-ago-quarter Apple captured 14.1% of the market.

Despite the dip in marketshare, Apple actually sold more units last quarter with a total of 4.6 million Apple Watches sold compared to 4.1 million last year. Fitbit only managed to sell 6.5 million fitness trackers last quarter after selling 8.4 million in Q4 2016.

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