Garmin and Samsung Gear VR were best sellers on Amazon over the Holidays

A lot of fitness trackers and mobile VR headsets were unwrapped this Christmas
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Amazon has revealed what products flew off the online shelves leading up to Christmas and there were two big winners in the wearable category: Garmin and Samsung.

While the online retail giant didn't reveal any precise figures, it lists the Garmin Vivofit fitness tracker, Garmin Vivoactive HR smartwatch and the Samsung Gear VR as it's top three 'Holidays Best Sellers' on Amazon.com.

Read this: Samsung Gear VR apps and games to download first

That's good news for Garmin who launched a lot of wearables in 2016 and clearly it has paid off. Affordable mobile VR was a big winner too as people opted out of spending big on the likes of Sony's PlayStation VR or HTC Vive virtual reality headsets.

It's perhaps something of a surprise that Fitbit doesn't get a mention here, although clearly the wearable tech heavyweight did pretty well over the Christmas period. That's based on the Fitbit companion app hitting the number 2 spot in Apple's App Store charts for free apps. It managed to break into the top 10 in the Google Play Store as well.

Unsurprisingly, Amazon products dominated across all categories with the Echo Dot and Echo among the best sellers. Over in the smart home category, the run down included the TP-Link Smart Plug, Philips Hue White A19 Starter Kit and the Samsung SmartThings Hub.

Speaking of Echo, Amazon also revealed how our pick for Smart Home Platform of the Year was used over the Holidays with Home Alone and Elf the most requested films through Alexa. Users in Seattle, New York and Chicago played the most Christmas music while the most popular cooking tips requested on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were turkey, prime rib and chocolate chip cookies. Hey Alexa, where's that leftover turkey...

Garmin and Samsung Gear VR were best sellers on Amazon over the Holidays




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Michael Sawh

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Michael Sawh has been covering the wearable tech industry since the very first Fitbit landed back in 2011. Previously the resident wearable tech expert at Trusted Reviews, he also marshaled the features section of T3.com.

He also regularly contributed to T3 magazine when they needed someone to talk about fitness trackers, running watches, headphones, tablets, and phones.

Michael writes for GQ, Wired, Coach Mag, Metro, MSN, BBC Focus, Stuff, TechRadar and has made several appearances on the BBC Travel Show to talk all things tech. 

Michael is a lover of all things sports and fitness-tech related, clocking up over 15 marathons and has put in serious hours in the pool all in the name of testing every fitness wearable going. Expect to see him with a minimum of two wearables at any given time.


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