According to Strategy Analytics' WDE (Wearables) research service, Global smartwatch sales will grow +60% in 2016.

North America, Western Europe, China and developed Asia will be the leading territories to target for volume and value. This extensive report forecasts global smartwatch sales, for 88 countries, from 2012 to 2020. Almost every major market worldwide is covered, including United States, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

The Apple Watch has been the catalyst for the global smartwatch market to take off, and has met moderate commercial success since launch. Looking forward. the Apple Watch in our estimation stands to become a popular item during the seasonally strong Q4 holiday season. Apple Watch growth will be driven by expanded retail and operator distribution channels, potential price cuts, and more compelling apps driven by watchOS 2 offering developers additional hardware flexibility within the SDK (read: API access to more functions and phone-independent apps).

The net effect of the Apple Watch has, and will continue to, boost awareness/ demand for the smartwatch category as whole. Android Wear smartwatches from LG, Moto/Lenovo, Sony, Huawei, Asus as well as Pebble smartwatches and Tizen-powered Samsung models all stand to grow -- increasingly at the expense of fitnessbands and sports watches.