IDC: Apple's Wearables Shipments Surged Last Quarter on Popularity of Apple Watch, AirPods, and Beats

Apple's wearables shipments nearly tripled in the third quarter of 2019 due to the growing popularity of the Apple Watch, AirPods, and Beats headphones, according to research firm IDC.

apple watch airpods gift 2019
IDC estimates that Apple shipped 29.5 million wearables last quarter, up from 10 million in the third quarter of 2018. Apple remained the world's largest wearables vendor, and the launch of the AirPods Pro and discounts on Apple Watch Series 3 models should keep the company in the lead, the research firm said.

Apple does not disclose wearables sales on a product or unit basis, so emphasis should be placed on IDC's figures being estimates, but all signs do point towards the Apple Watch and AirPods selling very well.

idc 3q19 wearables
Apple's "Wearables, Home and Accessories" revenue was a record-setting $6.5 billion in the third quarter of 2019, up 54 percent from $4.2 billion in the year-ago quarter. In addition to the Apple Watch, AirPods, and Beats, the category includes the HomePod, Apple TV, iPod touch, and both Apple-branded and third-party accessories.

AirPods Pro are currently estimated for delivery in January for orders placed on Apple.com, demonstrating how popular the new earphones are, although they remain available at select resellers.

Related Roundups: AirPods 4, Apple Watch 11
Tag: IDC
Related Forum: AirPods

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected [Updated]

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
macOS Tahoe 26 Thumb

Apple Releases macOS Tahoe 26.2 With Edge Light

Friday December 12, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.2, the second major update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out in September. macOS Tahoe 26.2 comes five weeks after Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.1. Mac users can download the macOS Tahoe update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes Edge Light, a feature that illuminates your face with soft...

Top Rated Comments

fmcshan Avatar
79 months ago
Good news, keep up the good work Apple! I’m loving the AirPods Pro.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bobob Avatar
79 months ago

Apple does not disclose wearables sales on a product or unit basis...
That must mean they're not selling very many of them!

...anyone remember that old troll chestnut from when Apple first stopped disclosing sales numbers?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannyyankou Avatar
79 months ago
No surprise there. Airpods are arguably the biggest new product since the original iPhone. And people laughed at them.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kabeyun Avatar
79 months ago
Triple growth in a year. Holy mackerel!


I only hear people complain on here, but in real life I heard nothing but praise
Welcome to MacRumors, once an enthusiast community, now the anti-Apple reality distortion bubble.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dominiongamma Avatar
79 months ago

No surprise there. Airpods are arguably the biggest new product since the original iPhone. And people laughed at them.
I only hear people complain on here, but in real life I heard nothing but praise about the AirPods ?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
djcerla Avatar
79 months ago
Wearables revenues will surpass the iPhone. Just like the iPhone surpassed the Mac.

AAPL is still vastly undervalued.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)