Samsung leads the smartwatch market

While Apple Watch may become a huge success later this year, last year was clearly dominated by Samsung, who sold most smartwatches. According to recent sales figures published by Statista, the global smartwatch market exceeded 4 million units last year, and Samsung sold almost 18 percent - about 1.2 million units.

Next in line are Pebble (700,000 units), FitBit (600,000 units), Sony, Lenovo, LG, and Garmin, all with sales from 400,000 to 550,000 units during 2014. The top 10 ends with Withings, Polar, and Asus, with 170,000, 150,000, and 120,000 smartwatches sold during the given time frame.

Samsung's smartwatch lineup consists of multiple devices powered by Android Wear, as well as Tizen OS. Tizen-powered Gear S, for example, is a standalone wearable with SIM card slot and 3G connectivity that can work without the need of a smartphone companion to pair with.

According to Strategy Analytics forecasts, Apple will sell over 15 million smartwatches and the global market will grow to over 28 million units. If this turns out to be true, Samsung will lose the crown but, as usual with such forecasts, this remains to be seen.