Smartwatch shipments to fall for the first time in history in 2024, with Apple retaining its top spot but Chinese manufacturers thriving with a 19% year-on-year decline
Market research firm Counterpoint has released a report on the smartwatch market in 2024. According to the report, global smartwatch shipments will decline 7% year-on-year in 2024, marking the first decline in history.
Global Smartwatch Shipments in 2024: Market Declines for First Time, China Leads for First Time
Apple Watch loses steam as global smartwatch shipments drop
https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/03/11/apple-watch-loses-steam-as-global-smartwatch-shipments-dropped-in-2024
According to Counterpoint, smartwatch shipments in 2024 are expected to decline 7% year-on-year, mainly reflecting a 19% decline in Apple's smartwatch shipments year-on-year. Nevertheless, Apple still retains the top position in market share.
Explaining why Apple struggled, senior research analyst Anshika Jain said, 'The Apple Watch lost momentum on its 10th anniversary despite the launch of the Series 10. The biggest factor in the decline was the North American market, where the absence of the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and minimal updates to the Series 10 led consumers to hold off on purchases. In addition, a patent dispute also limited shipments in the first half of the year, and a slowdown in the existing Apple Watch SE lineup and a lack of new SE models also contributed to the decline.'
The patent disputes that Jain is referring to are a lawsuit filed by medical device maker AliveCor , which claims that Apple's changes to the heart rate measurement algorithm in the Apple Watch violate antitrust laws, as well as a lawsuit with another medical device maker, Massimo , over a blood concentration sensor.
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Meanwhile, South Korea's Samsung saw strong sales of the Galaxy Watch 7, Galaxy Watch Ultra, and Galaxy Watch FE , which were released in 2024, and achieved 3% growth over the previous year. Chinese manufacturers also made great strides in 2024, with Xiaomi in particular growing 135% over the previous year to join the top five in market share.
The graph below shows the share of each manufacturer in the smartwatch market, with the left graph showing 2023 and the right graph showing 2024. The market share in 2024 is Apple (22%), Huawei (13%), Samsung (9%), Xiaomi (8%), and imoo (6%). While Apple's shipments decreased 19% year-on-year, imoo increased 22% year-on-year, Xiaomi increased 135%, and Huawei increased 35%, with Chinese manufacturers all recording strong performances.
Below is a graph showing the market share of smartwatches by region. Green (MEA) is the Middle East and Africa, dark gray (AP ex Ch, IN) is the Asia-Pacific region excluding China and India, blue (Europe) is Europe, light indigo (NAM) is North and Central America, orange (India) is India, and red (China) is China. It can be seen that China's market share will increase sharply from 2023 to 2024, exceeding that of North and Central America and India.
The only category that saw growth in the smartwatch market in 2024 was children's smartwatches. In particular, imoo has developed affordable yet feature-rich children's smartwatches, making it the market leader, Counterpoint reports.
'The smartwatch market is expected to recover slowly, growing by single-digit percentages through 2025,' said David Naranjo , associate director at Counterpoint. 'Both Android and iOS smartwatches are expected to integrate more AI features and advanced sensors to provide deeper insights into health data,' he said, arguing that health features on smartwatches are attracting attention.
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