• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

Apple to dominate smartwatch industry through 2019

By
Jason Cipriani
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jason Cipriani
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 14, 2015, 4:53 PM ET
Photograph by Justin Sullivan — Getty Images

While Apple (AAPL) is intent on keeping its Apple Watch sales numbers to itself, the International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts the company’s smartwatch will continue to dominate the wearable and smart wearable market.

The latter device refers to wrist-worn gadgets that go beyond just counting steps or measuring fitness metrics, and include capabilities such as displaying alerts or running applications similar to those found on smartphones and tablets.

IDC’s new report suggests Apple will sell a total of 13.9 million smartwatches and secure 58.3% share of the market in 2015. However, by 2019, Apple will ship 40.3 million watches, but its share will drop to a respectable 47.4% share, according to the report.

Apple’s market share drop can be blamed on Android Wear’s rising popularity. The report forecasts Android Wear shipments will wrap-up 2015 with 17.4% of the market and sell 4.1 million units around the world (up from 720,000 just a year ago). By 2019 that number will eventually grow to 32.6 million with a 38.4% market share as more brands release there own wearable devices.

Android Wear’s growing market share is thanks, in part, to Google’s (GOOGL) operating system, which it shares with its hardware partners. The end result is a device lineup spanning both ends of the spectrum in pricing and quality.

Pebble—a company that brought one of the industry’s first smartwatches to market—will ship more devices in the future, but will see its overall market share decline. Low pricing combined with compatibility across multiple mobile platforms (similar to Android Wear) and the firms “avid fanbase” will help the company earn a 3.1% market share in 2019, down from 8.7% in 2015.

Meanwhile, Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst for IDC, paints a dire picture for wearable companies that offer less functionality. Urbani expects sales of smart wearables to “surpass the lower priced, less functional basic wearable category in 2018,” he explains. “Smart wearables will quickly move from a smartphone accessory primarily focused on notifications to a more advanced wearable computer capable of doing more processing on its own.”

In other words: Wearable companies like Fitbit, Jawbone, Misfit, and any other firm, currently producing a simpler wearable should start innovating and adding more functionality.

Sign up for Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter about the business of technology.

For more about Apple, check out the following Fortune video:

About the Author
By Jason Cipriani
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

Latest in Tech

AsiaTariffs and trade
Countries must move beyond seeing AI as a race, where one side must beat the other
By Boris Babic and Brian WongJanuary 3, 2026
2 hours ago
Bhargava
CommentaryPasswords
You probably use the same password for 30 different websites. It’s time for a passkey. 
By Rishi BhargavaJanuary 3, 2026
12 hours ago
data center
AIData centers
Angry town halls nationwide find a new villain: the data center driving up your electricity bill while fueling job-killing AI
By Marc Levy and The Associated PressJanuary 3, 2026
13 hours ago
tesla
Big TechAutos
Elon Musk promised a ‘major rebound’ for Tesla in 2025. Instead it fell behind its biggest rival from China
By Paul Harloff, Bernard Condon and The Associated PressJanuary 3, 2026
13 hours ago
Sweden
CommentarySweden
Meet Sweden, the unicorn factory chasing America in the AI race
By Oscar TäckströmJanuary 3, 2026
15 hours ago
Man wearing a black suit with a microphone
InvestingMicrostrategy
Michael Saylor’s Strategy flirts again with the danger threshold at which his company is worth less than his Bitcoin
By Jim EdwardsJanuary 2, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.