Motorola Smartwatch (Photo : SlashGear)
Industry researcher Canalys stated in a new report that only about 720,000 out of 4.6 million Android Wear devices were shipped in the last six months of 2014. Among the six available smartwatches powered by Google's wearable OS, the Moto 360 came out as the "clear leader."
To put things in perspective, the Wall Street Journal compares the numbers to Apple's sales figures for the same period. Apple sold about 114 million iPhones, which means it sold almost as many iPhones per day as Android Wear device makers shipped over six months.
Other than the Motorola Moto 360, Canalys also stated that another circular smartwatch, the LG G Watch R, performed significantly better than its boxy ancestor, the G Watch.
Pebble also performed well, shipping a total of 1 million units since it released its smartwatch in 2013 until the end of last year. The startup helped grow its sales in the second half of 2014 through continued software updates, more apps in its app store and price cuts in the fall.
Another millionaire in terms of Android Wear devices shipped is Chinese electronics company Xiaomi, which sold more than 103,000 units of the Mi Band, a colorful and affordable basic band, on day 1. Although Fitbit remains the global leader in the basic wearable band market, Jason Low, research analyst at Canalys, notes that Xioami used a "unique strategy" when it entered the wearables market making it a "major force in the segment based solely on the size of the Chinese market."
As for Samsung, Canalys VP and Principal Analyst Chris Jones stated in the report that the Korean firm "still leads the smart band market," with six devices released to the market in just 14 months. But Jones notes that the tech giant has struggled to keep its customers "engaged."
