Apple continued to have a dominant hold on the wearables market in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to new shipment estimates shared today by IDC. Apple shipped 55.6 million wearable devices during the quarter for 36.2 percent market share.
That's the same market share Apple held in the fourth quarter of 2019, but overall device shipments were up from 43.7 million in Q4 2019. Apple's competitors don't even come close. Xiaomi shipped an estimated 13.5 million wearable devices for 8.8 percent market share, followed by Samsung at 13 million devices and Huawei at 10.2 million devices.
Apple Watch shipments rose an estimated 45.6 percent thanks to the different pricing intervals of the Apple Watch Series 6, SE, and Series 3, and "hearables" shipments of AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max surged during the quarter.
Across all of 2020, IDC believes Apple shipped 151.4 million wearable devices for 34.1 percent market share. Xiaomi was the number two wearable device manufacturer in 2020 with 50.7 million devices shipped, followed by Huawei and Samsung with 43.5 million and 40 million devices shipped, respectively.
Apple does not provide specific breakdowns of the number of Apple Watch and AirPods models shipped, so IDC's data is based on estimates. During a January earnings call, Apple said that wearables set a new revenue record in fiscal Q1 2021, which corresponds to the fourth calendar quarter of 2020. Apple's wearables business is the size of a Fortune 120 company.
Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below.
Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important.
Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped.
The new ...
Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more.
Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1.
Release Date
Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year.
Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth...
Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors.
...
Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out.
Processor and Performance
Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models could be available in new rich and warm color option, according to a known leaker.
The Weibo user known as "Instant Digital" today suggested that next-year's iPhone 18 Pro models will be available in at least one of the following color options: Coffee, purple, and burgundy.
The iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Pro were all available in ...
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device.
The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...
You should work for Samsung. Then you can tell them all the things they are doing wrong and how to fix it. Instead of making comments about how they are doing it wrong, be a part of the solution. But I get it. It’s much easier to complain and call people names then it is to actually do something.
What a stupid idea.
That's like saying "if you don't like butterfly switch keys or touchbar in MacBooks, go work at Apple and change it yourself".
Keep in mind, Samsung heard rumors of the Apple Watch back in 2012 and created 5 smartwatches in a span of 2 years before Apple released their first one.
Then, Samsung took the circular screen from the Moto 360 and took the rotating input mechanism from the Apple Watch to make their new smartwatches. They can't come up with good ideas on their own. They never will.
This goes to show you Samsung has no clue what they're doing. Apply the same logic to folding phones, smart tags, wireless earbuds, etc...being first doesn't mean it's going to be good and today's market proves it.
Keep in mind, Samsung heard rumors of the Apple Watch back in 2012 and created 5 smartwatches in a span of 2 years before Apple released their first one.
Then, Samsung took the circular screen from the Moto 360 and took the rotating input mechanism from the Apple Watch to make their new smartwatches. They can't come up with good ideas on their own. They never will.
This goes to show you Samsung has no clue what they're doing. Apply the same logic to folding phones, smart tags, wireless earbuds, etc...being first doesn't mean it's going to be good and today's market proves it.
Even by Apple fanboys standards, this is fantasy! The "rotating input mechanism" err otherwise known as the crown has been the method used by watches for 500 years. The wrist wrapping mechanism was also not invented by Apple..or though the fantastical pricing of said item made in "special" silicon was.
The "rotating input mechanism" err otherise known as the crown has been the method used by watches for 500 years.
Yet, Samsung didn't use it in their first 5 attempts at a smartwatch until *after* Apple Watch used it.
Did I say Apple invented the crown? Nope. You completely failed to understand what I'm saying. Either that or you're intentionally mischaracterizing what I'm trying to say because you don't really have much facts to base your accusations on.
