According to the latest report released by market research firm IDC, the Middle East and Africa region’s wearable device shipments were 14.89 million units, up 9.8% year-on-year; the market size was $2.86 billion (currently about RMB 19.705 billion), an increase of 25.4% year-on-year.
IDC pointed out in the report that the main driver of wearable device shipments is headphones, which grew 13.6 percent year-over-year last year and accounted for 50.6 percent of total shipments. Apple’s AirPods topped the list, with Samsung in second, both with more than 40 percent market share. Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi came in third.
The main driver of wearable device revenue in the region was smartwatches, which grew 45.7 percent year-over-year and accounted for 60.6 percent of the total wearable market. The top three in terms of shipments were Apple, Samsung and Huawei.
