IDC Data Suggests Apple Watch Shipments Fall 55% In Q2

International Data Corp. said that worldwide smartwatch witnessed a drop for the first time in the second quarter. The firm said shipments fell 32 percent in the June quarter. Apple Inc. AAPL, which retained its top position in the smartwatch segment, recorded 55 percent drop in the shipment in the second quarter.

IDC said that despite a significant drop in the second quarter, Apple remained far and away the market leader in smartwatches. The research firm said the tech bellwether faces the same challenges as other OEMs. However, the pure exposure of the device and brand through tactical marketing has given it a leg up on the competition.

The research firm said Apple Watch 2.0, along with updates to watchOS, could help drive existing user refresh. More than that, it hopes for a new wave of first-time buyers. The company enjoyed a market share of 47 percent in the latest quarter, down from 72 percent enjoyed in the previous year quarter.

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IDC's senior research analyst for Mobile Device Trackers, Jitesh Ubrani, commented, "Consumers have held off on smartwatch purchases since early 2016 in anticipation of a hardware refresh, and improvements in WatchOS are not expected until later this year, effectively stalling existing Apple Watch sales."

He added, "Apple still maintains a significant lead in the market and unfortunately a decline for Apple leads to a decline in the entire market. Every vendor faces similar challenges related to fashion and functionality, and though we expect improvements next year, growth in the remainder of 2016 will likely be muted."