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IDC Says Apple Watch Sales Is Down While Tim Cook Is Jubilant About Holiday Sales

Worldwide wearable sales have seen 3.1% growth in the last quarter, FitBit still leads the pack.
Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook discusses the Apple Watch Series 2 during a media event in San Francisco, California, U.S. September 7, 2016. REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach
Beck Diefenbach / Reuters
Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook discusses the Apple Watch Series 2 during a media event in San Francisco, California, U.S. September 7, 2016. REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach

This year doesn't seem to be doing Apple any good in terms of sales of its devices. After the iPhone sales declined this year, IDC has reported that for the third quarter the Apple Watch numbers have drastically plummeted.

Cupertino shipped just 1.1 million Apple Watch units as compared to 3.9 million in the last year for the same time period registering a 71% decline. The main reason is that in September the Apple Watch series 2 was announced and the old version felt lagging behind in hardware and software. The company also gave an upgrade to the old model with a newer processor.

On the other hand, CEO Tim Cook disputed the claims saying that the figures are off the chart and Apple Watch is doing great.

"Our data shows that Apple Watch is doing great and looks to be one of the most popular holiday gifts this year," Cook wrote in an email to Reuters.

Meanwhile, Fitbit still seems to be in a comfortable lead of the wearable markets with a mammoth 23.5% share. A refresh in the lineup and the upgrade to the lineup seems to have benefitted the company as it scored an 11% year-on-year growth.

Xiaomi holds the third position with 16.5% share with a very limited growth. Garmin seems to be doing well as the brand is getting more traction as a serious fitness tracker worldwide. Samsung doubled its shipments from last year. Although these were largely thanks to the bundled offers with Galaxy S7 and Note7.

Overall, the wearable market seems to be going up thanks to the fitness trackers as there were 23 million devices shipped. However, smartwatches are still facing a downward curve. Hopefully, with the release of the new Apple Watch series 2 and potential release of Android Wear 2.0 next year.