In 2014, Android Wear shipments were only 720,000. Who bought them?

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Beijing time, February 12 morning news, market research firm Canalys released a report on Wednesday showing that in 2014, Google's Android Wear operating system had a 15.6% share of the "smart wearable bracelet" market. Last year, the shipments of six Android Wear devices were 720,000, and the total shipments of such devices were 4.6 million.

Canalys defines smart wearable wristbands as wristbands that can run third-party applications. Such products mainly include Android Wear devices developed by manufacturers such as Motorola, Samsung devices using the Tizen system, non-Android Wear devices developed by Sony, Basis and other manufacturers, and Pebble's smart watches.

Canalys analyst Chris Jones said that Android Wear's performance in the market was weaker than Google expected. He said: "We think that by the end of this year, Android Wear will not perform as well as Google expected." Due to the emphasis on notifications, the battery consumption has increased significantly, so Android Wear does not seem to be optimized for wearable devices. In the future, developers need to continue to optimize the way users use such devices and the time they use them.

Motorola's round Moto 360 is the clear leader among Android Wear devices, though supply chain issues limited shipments of the smartwatch last year. Other Android Wear devices include the LG G Watch and G Watch R, Sony SmartWatch 3, Asus ZenWatch and Samsung Gear Live.

Another category of products is what Canalys calls "basic wearables." This includes products from wristband manufacturers Jawbone, Fitbit, Garmin and Polar, as well as new products from gaming peripheral manufacturer Razer and Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi. In this category, Fitbit is still the leader, while Xiaomi is rising rapidly with the Mi Band. Basic wearables can only run proprietary software and usually do not provide a screen. Android Wear devices are not included in this category.

Jones said that although only 4.6 million smart wearable devices were shipped last year, shipments of basic wearable devices reached about three times that number.

Android Wear devices have not achieved breakout success, and there are few high-end smartwatches with powerful features on the market. Apple's upcoming Apple Watch will offer a wide range of features and a high-quality screen. In addition, its battery life may also be slightly better than other products on the market.

The report said that considering Apple's past success, the impact of Apple Watch on the market may set the tone for the future development of smart wearable devices, and will also bring huge challenges to Google. Canalys analyst Daniel Matte said: "Android Wear needs to be greatly optimized in the future, and we think Google will do so."