Fitbit was the market leader in the nascent wearables market in Q1 2015 but it its reign at the top may be short-lived. Shipments last quarter hit 3.9 million units but China’s Xiaomi looks to be catching up very quickly. Xiaomi, which did not even offer any wearables in Q1 2014, this year grabbed second place with 2.8 million units shipped. A report today now indicates that total shipments of the Xiaomi Mi Band have now topped six million units.
According to IDC, Xiaomi shipped one million bands in 2014. The pace accelerated this year with the report indicating that shipments topped the 4 million mark in mid-April. Jump forward to June 10th and a Xiaomi spokesperson apparently claimed that sales had now topped the six million unit mark. If so, Xiaomi shipped roughly two million bands in the last two months alone. Numbers are likely to jump even higher as Xiaomi is now expanding to new markets including Europe and the U.S.
Xiaomi is also planning to expand its portfolio of wearables. Not only is a Xiaomi Mi Band successor in the works but the company is also planning to launch its first smartwatch with partner Huami. The former will likely to improve on its predecessor with the addition of NFC support and customization options. The latter is expected to come with a round display, a metal case and something called pulse wave velocity identification as well as “best user experience” if Xiaomi global operations Vice-President Hugo Barra is to be believed.
Source : Xiaomi Today