Global smartwatch market shipments grew by 12% year-on-year (YoY) in 2022 due to the strong YoY growth witnessed in the first three quarters of the year, according to Counterpoint Technology Market Research’s recently published Global Smartwatch Model Tracker. But the shipments fell by 2% YoY in the fourth quarter (Q4 2022) amid inflationary pressures and slow India growth. This was the market’s first negative growth in eight quarters since the pandemic hit the world in 2020.

The most striking feature of the year was price polarization in demand. Shipments in the mid-price range decreased while those in the >$400 and =$100 segments increased 129% and 34%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

“Apple strongly drove the average selling price (ASP) rise in the global smartwatch market in 2022, especially in the >$400 price band. There are two main reasons for this ASP rise – a diversified Apple smartwatch line-up and a rise in the exchange rate. This year, Apple released its first premium model, Ultra, at a release price of $799 in the US. In addition, as the exchange rate rose, the local price of Apple Watch in various countries changed. The demand for the premium segment remained relatively strong despite the decline in consumer sentiment at the end of 2022,” Research Analyst Woojin Son. “On the other hand, we must be cautious about the low-price band of sub-$100. While this segment expanded in 2022 along with the remarkable growth of India’s market, it showed a large withdrawal in Q4 when compared to Q3.”

Market summary

In 2022, Apple’s shipments increased 17% YoY as the Apple Watch Series 8, Ultra and SE 2022 enjoyed strong sales. In addition, annual shipments increased by 50 million for the first time, accounting for about 60% of the global smartwatch market revenue and further widening the gap with No. 2 Samsung.

Samsung’s yearly shipments increased by about 12% to account for about 10% of global smartwatch shipments. However, revenue only increased by 0.5%, which seems to be largely due to a slight drop in the ASP compared to the previous year, although sales of the newly released Galaxy Watch 5 series this year were positive.

Huawei‘s market share fell 1%p YoY due to the Chinese smartwatch market losing momentum to India in 2022. However,the brand’s revenue increased by 20% thanks to its relative focus on HLOS* smartwatches.

Noise and Fire Boltt, the Indian brands that supported the rapid growth of their home market, showed excellent growth in 2022. The two brands surpassed 5% of the global market share to rank fourth and fifth, respectively. Although the Indian market’s growth slowed in Q4 and failed to beat Huawei, it is attracting discussions on whether it will be able to threaten Samsung’s position beyond Huawei next year.

Fitbit and Xiaomi’s rankings fell to 10th and 11th in 2022 from 7th and 8th in the previous year. The strength of Indian brands was also affected, but these two brands failed to defend their share in their main markets like North America (Fitbit) and China (Xiaomi). Their shipments were flat or decreased compared to the previous year.

In terms of regions, North America recovered as the largest smartwatch market in Q4 2022, which also allowed it to remain in first place for a full year again. The region showed a significant increase in shipments driven by the strong performance of Apple in the fourth quarter. However, North America’s share decreased slightly as India emerged as another core region in 2022.

India’s market more than doubled compared to 2021. It grew steadily until Q3 2022 but fell 36% QoQ in Q4. Senior Analyst Anshika Jain said, “The third quarter of 2022 saw a big rise because most of the brands pushed high inventories into the channel ahead of the festive season. Therefore, we saw a decline in shipments in the fourth quarter.”

In the fourth quarter of 2022, China’s shipments rebounded for the first time in the year as the COVID-zero policy was eased and Apple received a great response to its more diverse line-up compared to the preceding series.

By: DocMemory
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