It appears that the latest report by Canalys for smartwatch shipments in Q1 2020 is out to present the momentum in growth by Huawei over Apple. Their latest statistics on Apple Watch shipments and market share are so far from those published by Strategy Analytics last month that it puts their reputation into question.  

In early May Strategy Analytics charts, as shown below, indicated that Apple shipments actually grew in Q1 2020 over 2019 by 22.6% giving Apple 55.5% market share globally. Huawei didn't even make the top four smartwatch vendors on Strategy Analytic's chart.

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In today's report from Canalys they present Apple Watch shipments had decreased year-over-year with market share dropping to 36.3% from 46.7% in 2019 while Huawei had a miraculous quarter with 113% annual growth putting them in second spot. How did Huawei take such a leap with Canalys when Strategy Analytics didn't even acknowledge them.  

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Canalys did note that Apple increased watchOS market share by 4 million bringing their installed base to 70 million. How Apple shipped less watches but gained watchOS users is a bit of a head-scratcher.

There's not much use covering more of Canalys report being that the statistics are in such clash from those from Strategy Analytics. Of course if you're a Huawei fan in China, it's Strategy Analytics that got the numbers wrong.

So why am I siding with Strategy Analytics? Because Apple's CEO Tim Cook noted during Apple's conference call on May 01 that wearables experienced growth with 70% of Apple Watch users being new to Apple Watch. Cook also pointed to Apple Watch gaining ground with medical professionals. If shipments of Apple Watch would have tanked, as Canalys is claiming, then Cook would not have pointed to Apple Watch in Apple's quarterly commentary in a positive light.