"The shift in consumer preferences towards smartwatches has been in full swing these past few quarters and we expect that to continue in the coming years," says IDC mobile device trackers senior research analyst Jitesh Ubrani. "While Apple will undoubtedly lead in this category, what bears watching is how Google and its partners move forward. WearOS (formerly Android Wear) has been somewhat of a laggard recently and despite expected changes to the OS and the release of new silicon, we anticipate Android-based watches to be WearOS' closest competitor due to the high amount of customisation available to vendors and the lack of Google services in China." "Additionally, keep an eye on the other smartwatch platforms, including Fitbit's Fitbit OS, Garmin's Connected IQ, and Samsung's Tizen," says IDC wearables research director Ramon T. Llamas.