A measly 720,000 Android smartwatches were sold last year

With the Apple Watch set to launch in a few weeks there’s no better time to reveal some Android Wear statistics, and they’re kind of disappointing. According to Canalys, a little over 720,000 Android Wear devices were shipped last year with Motorola being the clear leader with its Moto 360 smartwatch. 

Research firm Canalys today revealed that over 720,000 Android Wear devices shipped in 2014, according to its own data. Motorola is said to be “the clear leader” among manufacturers, likely owing to the standout design of its Moto 360. Canalys notes that LG’s G Watch R performed significantly better than the company’s bland first try at Android Wear; the original G Watch was one of two launch devices for Google’s wearables operating system. The research firm claims that Samsung’s decision to divide and conquer by supporting both Android Wear and Tizen — mostly the latter — has also put it in a good position, though Canalys VP Chris Jones notes that the endless stream of wrist-worn products has “struggled to keep consumers engaged” and Samsung must to step up its efforts to get developers behind Tizen if the platform is to prove viable. Again, these are numbers shipped and not actual sales data.