Xiaomi wins 25% of wearables market in 9 months

Chinese firm Xiaomi has gone from zero to hero during its first nine months on the wearable devices market, after releasing the inexpensive Mi Band midway through 2014.

Its $14.99 water-resistant band acts as pedometer, sleep quality analyst, and nonintrusive alarm clock and was released in China before arriving in the US, UK, Germany and France via the brand's online store.

Having shipped 2.8 million wearables worldwide between January and March, a figure accounting for 24.6% of the market, Xiaomi became second only to Fitbit (3.9m, 34.2%), the Californian company which introduced its first Fitbit Tracker in 2008.

Industry analysis firm IDC produced a top five list that compared market share at the end of 2015's first quarter -- January to March -- with the same period of 2014.

Garmin shipped 0.7m wearables (6.1%), Samsung 0.6m (5.3%), and Jawbone 0.5m (4.4%). All four of the established manufacturers achieved over 100% growth.

A total of 11.4m wearables were shipped in the first three months of 2015, with other manufacturers accounting for 2.9m or 25.4% of the market.

Crucially, though, the ranking omits Apple, whose Apple Watch was only released toward the end of April, and immediately sold an estimated 1 million units upon opening to pre-orders.

"We now see over 40% of the devices priced under $100," said IDC senior research analyst Jitesh Ubrani. "Despite this price erosion, Apple's entrance with a product priced at the high end of the spectrum will test consumers' willingness to pay a premium for a brand or product that is the center of attention."