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Apple Watch Smartwatches Android

Apple shifted over half of all smartwatches sold in 2015

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By John McCarthy | Opinion Editor

January 13, 2016 | 2 min read

The Apple Watch seized a sizeable share of the global smartwatch market in 2015, according to independent research.

After its global launch on 9 March 2015, the tech looks to have captured much of the global smartwatch market, although to date, Apple has not released any data on the sales of its entry into wearable devices.

A market study from Juniper Research found that Apple shipped 51.5 per cent of all global smartwatches – a fair chunk of the estimated 17.1m of the devices shifted worldwide.

As a result, Apple has shipped an estimated 8.8m Apple Watches, although fewer may have been purchased by consumers.

In order to make up lost ground to Apple, Android looked to make its hardware compatible with iPhones by launching its Android Wear app on iOS in September. This meant iPhone users could look beyond the Apple Watch if they were interested in investing in a smart watch.

James Moar, the Juniper analyst leading the research, said: “Newer devices have offered more polished looks and subtly different functions, but no large changes in device capabilities or usage.

“With smartwatch functions established, it is now up to consumers to decide if they want them, rather than technology companies providing more reasons."

Android will look to raise its game in 2016 with smart watches running Android Wear making up only 10 per cent of the market in 2015.

Apple Watch Smartwatches Android

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