According to the latest research from our WDE (Wearables) service, global smartwatch shipments grew an impressive 457 percent annually to hit a record 5 million units in the second quarter of 2015. Apple Watch was the star performer, capturing a dominant 75 percent marketshare in first place.

Global smartwatch shipments grew an impressive 457 percent annually from 1.0 million units in Q2 2014 to hit a record 5.3 million in Q2 2015. It was the smartwatch industry's fastest ever growth rate. Volumes in the second quarter of 2015 were higher than for the whole of last year, when 4.6 million smartwatches shipped globally in 2014.

We estimate Apple Watch shipped 4.0 million units and captured a dominant 75 percent smartwatch marketshare worldwide in Q2 2015. Apple Watch launched in sixteen major countries and saw decent take-up from iPhone loyalists in the United States and elsewhere. Apple Watch has clearly raised the bar for the global smartwatch industry. The ball is now in the court of rivals, like Samsung, to respond.

We estimate Samsung shipped 0.4 million smartwatches and captured 8 percent marketshare worldwide for second position. Apple and Samsung together account for 8 in 10 of all smartwatches shipped globally. However, Samsung is a long way behind Apple and it will need to launch multiple new smartwatch models and apps across dozens of countries if it wants to reduce Apple’s global smartwatch leadership in the coming months.

Exhibit 1: Global Smartwatch Vendor Shipments and Marketshare in Q2 2015  [1]