Apple Watch leads in wearable computing, as Fitbit slips to third place
Washington — Apple has leapt to the lead in wearable computing on strong sales of it smartwatch, a market survey shows. The survey released on Thursday by Strategy Analytics showed that Apple grabbed a 15.9% share of the wearables market in the first quarter. While Apple does not release sales figures for its Apple Watch, the estimate by Strategy Analytics showed a 59% jump in sales from a year earlier, with 3.5-million units sold in the first three months of 2017. "The new Apple Watch Series 2 is selling relatively well in the US, UK and elsewhere, due to enhanced styling, intensive marketing and a good retail presence," said Strategy Analytics executive director Neil Mawston. Fitbit, which has been a longtime leader of the wearables market with its fitness bands, slipped to third place, on a 36% slide in sales in the first quarter, the research firm said. The survey found that China’s Xiaomi, which makes a budget-priced fitness band, was the second-largest vendor with 15.5% global...
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