Apple shipped six million smartwatches in the fourth quarter of 2016, the company's new quarterly shipment record for the smart device segment, according to Canalys.

The Apple Watch generated more than US$2.6 billion in revenues for Apple in the fourth quarter of 2016, making up nearly 80% of total global smartwatch revenues, Canalys noted.

Driven by Apple's strong performance, global smartwatch shipments reached nine million units in the fourth quarter of 2016, increasing 12% from a year earlier.

Canalys also estimated that Apple shipped 11.9 million smartwatches in 2016, holding a 50% market share globally for the year.

Xiaomi also enjoyed a record quarter shipping a total of 5.5 million Mi Band bracelets in the quarter.

In the coming quarters, Samsung Electronics is expected to push shipments of its Gear S3 Classic and Frontier. Also, Android Wear shipment volumes will bounce back significantly, as new products that were postponed due to the delay of Android Wear 2.0 will be launched soon, Canalys commented.