Smart and Basic Watches Drive Wearable Market Back to Growth in 2Q22

Global wearable band shipments were up 2.0% in the second quarter of 2022 at 41.7 million units, according to Canalys estimates. It marks the return to growth after a decline of 3.7% in Q1. Basic watches and smartwatches, categorized under wristwatches, grew 46.6% and 9.3% respectively. The wristwatch category continues to drive the development of the wearable band market, while basic bands suffered a big 35.5% decline in 2Q22.

Like the smart personal audio market, India’s wearable band market performance was the highlight in Q2, with impressive shipment growth of 275%, driven by basic watches. While India stayed in third place behind China and the US in terms of overall wearable band shipments, its share hit 15% for the first time. The basic watch boom fueled India’s growth, with the category accounting for 91% of all wearable band shipments in the country, making India the world’s largest basic watch market with 5.7 million units shipped, overtaking China. Noise led the wearable band market in India with a 29% market share, closely followed by Fire-Boltt and boAt with 25% and 20% market shares respectively.

“The local kings, such as Noise, Fire-Boltt, and boAt, have found a winning formula to hit a quarterly shipment level of more than a million units quickly,“ said Canalys Analyst Ashweej Aithal. “High affordability and appealing designs, marketed at young, savvy consumers, help vendors fulfill the current demand. But users often require deeper engagement with devices and health features to benefit from them. Users will soon look for improved devices and health features, such as better tracking accuracy and more health metrics. Vendors must anticipate this shift in people’s needs to avoid disappointing users and continue to sustain growth.“

Apple continues to dominate the global wristwatch market with a 26% market share. Samsung overtook Huawei with solid growth of 58%, shipping 2.8 million smartwatches despite the much-anticipated launch of its Galaxy Watch 5 series in 3Q22. “Within the Android space, Samsung is leading in leveraging its watches to enhance its premium ecosystem user experience,“ said Canalys Analyst Cynthia Chen. “The premium user experience extends from attractive designs and good build quality to intuitive software, seamless ecosystem integration, and effective health tracking. While challenging, vendors must build experience and knowledge in developing software and tracking algorithms, combining them with a robust digital health strategy to win in the long term.“