Xiaomi took top spot from Apple for worldwide wearable shipments in Q3 2018, as the overall market returned to growth following the release of new products and growing demand from Asia-Pacific, research company IDC announced.

In its quarterly wearable device tracker report, IDC said Xiaomi’s success during the quarter was due to high sales of its Mi Band 3 and significant expansion beyond its home market of China.

IDC noted that, typically, China accounted for more than 80 per cent of Xiaomi’s shipments, but the share fell to 61 per cent in the quarter as the company grew its presence in markets including India, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

In total, the company shipped 6.9 million units in Q3, up from 3.6 million in Q3 2017, accounting for s 21.5 per cent market share in the recent period.

Apple slipped to second place with shipments of 4.2 million units, despite launching its Series 4 Watch, which has been heavily pushed for its health benefits, during the quarter.

The latest model accounted for less than 20 per cent of all Apple Watch shipments, with the majority coming from the Series 3. Fitibit, Huawei and Samsung rounded out the top five.

Overall  growth
The signs were positive for the overall market, with total shipments growing 21.7 per cent from Q3 2017 to 32 million units. IDC said new products from Fitbit, Garmin and Huawei helped the market return to growth, while Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) accounted for more than half of all shipments and grew 21.4 per cent year-on-year.

Behind Asia-Pacific, the US was the second-largest market during Q3 2018. Shipments were down 0.4 per cent “as it transitions from a market driven by new users to one that relies on replacement devices and upgrades”, added IDC.