Samsung, for example, was the second-largest smartwatch vendor in the second quarter of 2019 coming in just behind Apple, while Fitbit came in third, according to Strategy Analytics. Samsung sells earbuds too, but the company accounts for a smaller sliver of the truly wireless earbuds market compared to the smartwatch space.
Samsung only accounted for 6% of the truly wireless earbuds market in the third quarter of 2019, according to Counterpoint Research, losing its second-place spot to Chinese tech firm Xiaomi. Apple, however, dominated the market with a 45% share of the industry in Q3 2019.
Fitbit launched its own headphones called the Fitbit Flyer in 2017, but those earbuds no longer appear in its product lineup on its website. It is possible, however, that Fitbit's lack of a presence in the earbud market may not matter as much, considering it's joining Google. The search giant has its own plans to launch wireless earbuds called the Pixel Buds in 2020.
But even then, it will likely be challenging for Google to make a significant dent in the market, considering it's coming much later than competitors like Apple, Samsung, and the Apple-owned Beats, among others.