The Pixel Watch managed to secure the second position in the wearable industry for Google.

Google finally introduced its highly anticipated Pixel Watch last year, alongside its latest generation of smartphones. Recent data indicates that the smartwatch has been a hit for the company, with hundreds of thousands of units shipped in the first few months.

Canalys reports that Google shipped 880,000 units of the Pixel Watch during the first three months of its availability, in Q4 2022. This was enough to push Google into second place in the smartwatch industry, accounting for 8% of the total shipping volume. This is significantly lower than Apple’s dominant market share of nearly 28%, but much higher than Samsung’s 5.9%.

It should be noted that the Pixel Watch does not make up the majority of Google’s wearable shipments. Fitbit devices, which accounted for the majority of the four million units shipped in Q4 2022, are also included in the total.

During the same period, Apple shipped just under 14 million smartwatches, while Samsung, Xiaomi, and Huawei shipped less than three million each. The wearable market has been shrinking in the past year, with an 18% year-on-year contraction. Google’s shipments decreased by 25%, which was slightly better than Samsung’s 35% decline, while Apple maintained steady with a 17% drop. Canalys reports that the Pixel Watch contributed to a 16% increase in Google’s smartwatch sales.

However, one piece of evidence contradicts this claim: the Pixel Watch software, which is necessary to use the watch, has only recently surpassed 500,000 installs. Nonetheless, considering the difference between shipments and actual units sold, it seems plausible. This development coincides with Google’s ongoing effort to play down Fitbit’s Versa and Sense smartwatches. When those fitness-focused wearables were launched last year, Google removed several smartwatch features, including third-party apps, and has only underscored this decision.

Recently, Google made an announcement that it would be discontinuing some essential long-standing features of Fitbit, and the fitness app experienced several significant disruptions in February. However, Google has continued to enhance the Pixel Watch by adding features like Fall Detection.

Despite this, the Pixel Watch has a considerable distance to cover to catch up with its primary competitors. Although Samsung and Apple sell significantly more smartwatches than Google and Fitbit combined, the Pixel Watch seems to be doing reasonably well for a first-generation device with high expectations.

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