Smartwatches leave fitness trackers in the dust in the growing wearable market

Smartwatches finally reign supreme in the wearable world. 

The gadget segment saw a major increase in shipments over the last few months, according IDC's latest wearables market report. Smartwatch shipments grew 60.9 percent in Q2 2017, a massive spike in consumer interest in a category that many were ready to give up on as recently as this April.

The smartwatch surge might have come to the detriment of the once-mighty "basic wearables" category, which covers gadgets that don't run apps like step counters. The simple fitness trackers posted a loss for the first time ever, with a negative annual growth of -0.9 percent.  Read more...