Manufacturers shipped more than 720,000 Android wearable devices worldwide in 2014, 16% of the 4.6 million wearables shipped last year, according to new research from mobile technology research and consulting firm Canalys. Many wearables manufacturers use their own proprietary operating systems, and Apple Inc. has yet to debut its Apple Watch, which is expected in the spring.

Motorola Mobility LLC was the clear leader among Android Wear vendors, Canalys says. LG Electronics’ round G Watch R performed significantly better than its original G Watch, while Asus and Sony Corp. entered the market last year with their own Android Wear devices, the research firm says.

Pebble, one of the first smartwatch makers, has shipped one million of its Android wearables from its 2013 launch through the end of 2014, Canalys says. Continual software updates, more apps in its app store and price cuts in the fall helped maintain strong sales in the second half of the year, the research firm finds.

“Samsung has launched six devices in just 14 months, on different platforms, and still leads the smartband market,” says Canalys vice president and principal analyst Chris Jones. “But it has struggled to keep consumers engaged and must work hard to attract developers while it focuses on Tizen for its wearables.”

Tizen is a mobile operating system standard created and promoted by the Linux Foundation.

Following a strategy quite different from other manufacturers, Xiaomi Inc. in 2014 shipped more than one million Mi Bands, colorful and affordable basic smartbands, Canalys says. This included one day where sales exceeded 103,000 smartbands, the research firm says.

“Though the Mi Band is a lower-margin product than competing devices, Xiaomi entered the wearables market with a unique strategy, and its shipment volumes show how quickly a company can become a major force in the wearables market based solely on the size of the Chinese market,” says Canalys research analyst Jason Low.

Fitbit Inc.’s eponymous smartband remains the global leader in the basic wearable smartband market.

All eyes now are on Apple, which will reveal further details about the Apple Watch prior to its release, expected in April; the smartwatch likely will dramatically grow the market for wearables, says Canalys analyst Daniel Matte.

“Apple made the right decisions with its WatchKit software development kit to maximize battery life for the platform, and the Apple Watch will offer leading energy efficiency,” Matte says. “Android Wear will need to improve significantly in the future, and we believe it will do so.”

Wearables shipment data comes from Canalys’ Wearable Technology Analysis service, which provides quarterly market tracking, including country-level estimates. Canalys defines basic wearable smartbands as devices serving a specific set of purposes that act as accessories to other smart devices, that are designed to be worn on the body and not carried, and that cannot run third-party apps.

Follow Bill Siwicki, editor of the 2015 Internet Retailer Mobile 500 and editor, mobile, at Internet Retailer, at @IRmcommerce and at @MobileInsiderBS.

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