9 hours Ago By Varun Godinho
Global smartwatch shipments dropped 7% year-on-year in 2024, its first-ever decline, according to research released by Counterpoint. It attributed the downturn “primarily to a decline in Apple’s shipments” as the basic smartwatch segment “saw lower upgrades amid a slowdown.” Apple remained the top-selling smartwatch brand in 2024, although its shipments dropped 19% and it held a 22% market share, compared to a 25% grip in 2023.
“Apple Watch witnessed a decline in momentum on its 10th anniversary, despite the launch of the S10 series. The biggest driver of the decline was North America, where the absence of the Ultra 3 and minimal feature upgrades in the S10 lineup led consumers to hold back purchases. Additionally, patent disputes limited shipments in the first half of the year.
The slowdown of the existing Apple Watch SE lineup and the lack of new SE models also contributed to the decline,” said Senior Research Analyst Anshika Jain. Samsung meanwhile saw a 3% growth last year, with Counterpoint adding that the company’s new Galaxy Watch7, Galaxy Watch Ultra and Galaxy Watch FE Series saw strong adoption. Xiaomi’s shipments meanwhile surged 135% in 2023, experiencing the fastest growth among the other brands and securing a spot among the top five for the first time.
Its Watch S1 and Redmi Watch series contributed to that exceptional growth. One of the segments that saw considerable growth was the kids’ smartwatch segment with Imoo remaining the market leader. Brands such as Noise, boAt and Google’s Fitbit have started diversifying their portfolio to include kids’ smartwatches.
In January this year, Samsung announced that it had collaborated with Google to introduce a new kid-friendly Wear OS software experience called “Galaxy Watch for Kids”. The experience is available exclusively on Galaxy Watch7 LTE which is available from around A$489 at retailers in Australia such as JB Hi-Fi. As for its outlook for this year, Counterpoint’s analysts suggest that the smartwatch market will recover with single-digit percentage growth, alongside a growing focus on AI features and health-tracking abilities.
“Both Android and iOS smartwatches are expected to integrate more AI capabilities and advanced sensors to provide deeper insights into health data,” said Associate Director David Naranjo. “For advanced sensors, smartwatches are expected to incorporate sensors for measuring bodily signals such as serious heart health tracking, focusing on atrial fibrillation, sleep apnea, hypertension, and diabetes.”.
