Smartwatch shipments in India declined for the first time since 2018, while the wireless stereo (TWS) segment saw strong growth, according to a report by a market research firm. Smartwatch market share fell, while the wristband category grew 17.5 percent year-on-year (year-over-year). Although there was an overall decline in shipments, Boat emerged as the top laptop brand overall in the first quarter of 2024 with a 23.9 percent market share, finishing above other brands such as Noise, Fire-Boltt and Boult.
Declining smartwatch shipments
The number of TWS shipped in India rose from 14.6 million in the first quarter of 2023 to 15.8 million in the first quarter of 2024, according to the International Data Corporation's (IDC) India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker ). On the other hand, shipments of smart watches fell from 10.3 million units in the first quarter of 2023 to 9.6 million, a decline of 7.3% year-over-year.
The report attributes this drop to excess inventory being carried over from holiday sales in the second half of 2023, as well as fewer launches in 2024. That said, the share of advanced smartwatches, including offerings from Apple and Samsung, grew from 2.0 percent to 3.2 percent, according to the report.
“The smartwatch market is showing early signs of slowing down in India. Vendors are facing challenges to entice customers to upgrade due to limited innovation and freshness of newer models “. Vikas Sharma, senior market analyst (smart wearables) at IDC India, said in a prepared statement.
New categories of wearables appear
Other wearables, such as smart rings and smart glasses, saw the biggest growth, according to IDC's latest report. It went from just 100 shipments in the first quarter of 2023 to nearly 69,000 units shipped in the first quarter of 2024, a growth of 46,399.3 percent.
Ultrahuman finished as the top smart ring maker in the period with a 43.9 percent market share, followed closely by Pi Ring with a 40.1 percent share, according to the IDC report. Boat, Noise, Fire-Boltt, Boult and Oppo emerged as the top five vendors, with a collective market share of 59.9 percent.
Interestingly, offline channels saw their share of shipments increase from 26.1% in the first quarter of 2023 to 37.9% in the first quarter of 2024, according to the report. On the other hand, online channel shipments experienced a decline of 14.1% year-on-year, for the second consecutive quarter.
