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

Fitbit Retains its Lead Over Apple in Wearables

By
Kif Leswing
Kif Leswing
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kif Leswing
Kif Leswing
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 3, 2015, 12:00 PM ET
James Parkm, FitBit
pickupPhotograph by Richard Drew—AP

Is 2015 wearable technology’s breakthrough year? Wearables—defined as both smartwatches like Apple Watch and simple fitness trackers like those Fitbit makes—continued their massive growth in the third quarter, with 21 million units shipped worldwide. That’s nearly three times as many as were shipped in the same quarter in 2014.

A new IDC report breaks down where the 197% growth came from. A lot of it is due to Apple’s smartwatch: 3.9 million Apple Watches were shipped last quarter, good for 18.6% market share during the quarter. That’s an impressive stat considering this is only the second quarter where the Apple Watch was on sale for the entire period.

However, Apple (AAPL) remains the second-place vendor behind Fitbit (FIT), which sold 4.7 million trackers during the same period. Fitbit remains the leader in wearables because its products are more affordable than the Apple Watch. Most Fitbits cost between $50 and $200. The least expensive Apple Watch starts at $349.

Fitbit’s success is another sign that smartwatches aren’t replacing fitness trackers, as has been theorized. Instead, analysts said that smartwatches and fitness trackers are co-existing. Both product categories are growing year over year, and the market is diversifying into a range of products with different features from simple step tracking to a smartphone-like experience on your wrist.

Xiaomi doesn’t make a smartwatch yet, but it shipped more wearables than any company other than Apple and Fitbit last quarter, due to its Mi Band, which is primarily sold in China. The low-cost fitness tracker costs just $15, and Xiaomi added a heart rate sensor to its latest model, which went on sale during the past quarter.

After the top three vendors, there’s a huge drop in total units shipped. Garmin (GRMN), which makes GPS-equipped fitness watches, sold 900,000 devices in the third quarter of 2015, good for fourth place. And in an upset that shows just now nascent the market is, the fifth biggest wearable vendor last quarter is a Chinese company nearly completely unknown in the United States. XTC, a subsidiary of BBK, shipped more wearables than Korean electronics giant Samsung last quarter. It shipped 700,000 units of its one device, the Y01, a phone-watch hybrid intended for children sold exclusively in China.

Other notable companies missing from IDC’s leaderboard include Jawbone, which makes the Up fitness tracker, and recently had to to lay off 15% of its employees. None of the five top wearable vendors make a smartwatch running Google(GOOG) Android Wear software, either, indicating that Apple’s WatchOS is the dominant smartwatch interface for now.

The absence of Android Wear is mostly due to the fact that the latest devices, such as Fossil’s new watch, didn’t go on sale until late in the quarter, IDC research manager Ramon Llamas explained in an email to Fortune. “The (Android Wear) vendor list is rather short. Samsung bowed out, and it’s mostly Motorola and a few Chinese vendors just getting going.”

But the entire wearable industry is growing rapidly right now, and there’s room for new companies and software platforms to come in and establish a foothold as more people try wearable technology for the first time. The next question facing the industry is the 2015 holiday season: How many people will find wearables under the tree this year?

For more on the wearables market, watch this Fortune video:

Subscribe to Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the business of technology.

About the Author
By Kif Leswing
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
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • 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
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Elon Musk warns the U.S. is '1,000% going to go bankrupt' unless AI and robotics save the economy from crushing debt
By Jason MaFebruary 7, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Even with $850 billion to his name, Elon Musk admits ‘money can’t buy happiness.’ But billionaire Mark Cuban says it’s not so simple
By Preston ForeFebruary 6, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Gen Z Patriots quarterback Drake Maye still drives a 2015 pickup truck even after it broke down on the highway—despite his $37 million contract
By Sasha RogelbergFebruary 7, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Anthropic cofounder says studying the humanities will be 'more important than ever' and reveals what the AI company looks for when hiring
By Jason MaFebruary 7, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
AI
AI can make anyone rich: Mark Cuban says it could turn 'just one dude in a basement' into a trillionaire
By Sydney LakeFebruary 7, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Energy
Next-gen nuclear's tipping point: Meta and hyperscalers start deals with Bill Gates’ TerraPower, Sam Altman-backed Oklo, and more
By Jordan BlumFebruary 7, 2026
24 hours ago

© 2026 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.


Latest in Tech

InvestingVenture Capital
NFL legend Joe Montana lived around top VC execs as a 49er, then leveraged those ties to launch his second career as an investor
By Jason MaFebruary 8, 2026
3 hours ago
CybersecurityJeffrey Epstein
FBI found little evidence Epstein ran a sex trafficking ring for powerful men and concluded a ‘client list’ doesn’t exist
By Michael R. Sisak, David B. Caruso, Larry Neumeister and The Associated PressFebruary 8, 2026
5 hours ago
RetailEurope
Trump’s Greenland crisis triggered a surge in apps designed to help shoppers boycott U.S. goods, though few American imports are on store shelves
By James Brooks and The Associated PressFebruary 8, 2026
6 hours ago
nfl
CommentaryTV
The Super Bowl was made for TV and instant replay was made for visual AI. Here’s how it could be better and what it would look like
By Jason CorsoFebruary 8, 2026
7 hours ago
monkey
CybersecurityAnimals
One way AI won’t ruin the world: tools to crack down on the $23 billion animal trafficking trade
By Eve Bohnett and The ConversationFebruary 8, 2026
8 hours ago
heacock
CommentaryLeadership
I’m a CEO who grew a ‘boring’ air filter business into a $260 million company, and AI is going to help blue-collar, everyday people just like me
By David HeacockFebruary 8, 2026
8 hours ago