The wearable-band market grew 684% year-on-year on a worldwide basis in the first half of 2014, according to the latest device-shipment estimates by industry analyst company Canalys. The company tracks wearable-device shipments and segments the market into smart bands, which are capable of running third-party applications, and basic bands, which are not. "Fitbit and Jawbone … took first and second place, respectively, in the basic wearable-band market in the first half 2014," said Canalys vice president and principal analyst Chris Jones. Samsung again became the worldwide leader in the smart-wearable-band market in the first half of 2014 with the release of the Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit in the second quarter. Android Wear shipments will appear in Canalys' Q3 shipment tracking, with LG's G Watch and Samsung's Gear Live officially launching the platform. Many have speculated that Apple will soon launch a smart wearable band. Canalys expects that such a product would make extensive use of custom components. Release