Fitbit might have sprinted ahead of the competition, but the Apple Watch is right on its heels.
A new report from market research firm IDC shows that Apple shipped 3.6 million wearable devices in the second quarter of 2015. That is not too far behind Fitbit, which shipped 4.4 million.
Fitbit has been around since 2007 and makes a wide variety of products, from the $60 Zip tracker to the $250 Surge watch.
The Apple Watch has only been around since April 2015. Its cheapest model starts at $349 and prices go up to a whopping $17,000. The two companies make very different products, with Fitbit devices focused on fitness and the Apple Watch capable of doing everything from giving directions to letting users check email.
The fact that Apple has gained so much ground so quickly might seem like bad news for Fitbit and other makers of wearable devices like Samsung and Garmin. But ultimately, IDC research manager Ramon Llamas said, a rising tide might lift all boats.
Related: 8 Things You'll Want to Do One Day on Your Apple Watch
"[Apple's] participation benefits multiple players and platforms within the wearables ecosystem, and ultimately drives total volumes higher," Llamas said in a statement. "Fairly or not, Apple will become the stick against which other wearables are measured, and competing vendors need to stay current or ahead of Apple."
