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Basic Wearables More Popular Than Feature-Rich Ones

Apple was the only wearable vendor in the top five to post a year-over-year decrease in shipment volumes last quarter.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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Turns out, consumers are more interested in basic wearables than fancy, feature-rich ones.

According to new data from IDC, shipments of wearable devices reached 22.5 million units in the second quarter of the year, a 26.1 percent year-over-year increase. But while the overall wearables market grew, its two categories "traveled at different speeds and directions," the research firm said.

Basic wearables, aka those that don't support third-party applications, grew 48.8 percent from the same quarter last year. Smart wearables, on the other hand, declined 27.2 percent year over year.

"Basic wearables, which include most fitness trackers, have benefited from a combination of factors: a clear value proposition for end-users, an abundant selection of devices from multiple vendors, and affordable price points," IDC's Research Manager for Wearables Ramon Llamas said in a statement. "Consequently, basic wearables accounted for 82.8 percent of all wearable devices shipped during the quarter."

Smart wearables, meanwhile, "are still struggling to find their place in the market," Llamas said, adding that the transition from basic wearables to smart ones will be "slow."

"There is plenty of curiosity about what smart wearables — particularly smartwatches — can do, but they have yet to convince users that they are a must-have item," he said. "The good news is that smart wearables are still in their initial stages and vendors are slowly making strides to improve them."

Breaking down last quarter's results by vendor, Fitbit lead the market as the top wearable device maker, shipping 5.7 million units to grab 25.4 percent of the market. China's Xiaomi, maker of the Mi Band 2, came in second, followed by Apple, Garmin, and Lifesense (maker of low-cost Mambo fitness trackers shipping into China). Apple was the only vendor in the top five to post a year-over-year decrease in shipment volumes, IDC said.

Wearable performance Q2 2016

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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