IDC is out today with its numbers on the global sales of wearables for 2017. Without any surprise, the data shows Apple Watch on top, like we saw confirmed from other firms last month.

IDC’s report shows Apple as the global leader in wearables for Q4 2017 with 8 million units shipped. Fitbit came in a relatively distant second place with 5.4 million sales.

Apple also took the number one spot for 2017 sales overall with 17.7 million units. Xiaomi took the number two spot with 15.7 million for the year.

The most impressive part about Apple Watch sales is the estimated 57.5% YoY growth for the holiday quarter and 55.9% YoY growth for 2017. This data lines up with a Canalys report we saw last month and tracks with the vague details Apple shared during its last earnings call.

Apple is catching the market at the right time with many users of basic wearables moving on to smartwatches and cellular connectivity (available on select Series 3 Watches) is earning a warm reception among end users, if only for the convenience of leaving their smartphone behind. The late-year push of 8.0 million units separated Apple from the competition to emerge as the overall leader of the wearables market for the year.

Notably, Xiaomi and Fitbit – who had the second and third most shipments – saw a -0.3% and -31.6% drop in shipments YoY for 2017. This leaves Apple Watch in prime position to dominate 2018 and beyond.

Source: 9to5mac