Smartwatch Market Bounces Back Thanks to Apple, Huawei

After a slow 2022, the global smartwatch market experienced a 9% year-over-year rise in shipments in Q3, led by Apple’s wearables, according to Counterpoint Research.

Apple had its best-ever Q3 this year, with shipments up 7% over last year. The increase is notable because the Series 9 was released about a week later into the quarter than the Series 8 last year. According to Counterpoint, however, the version that “significantly contributed to [Apple’s] growth” was the budget-friendly Apple Watch SE from 2022.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic (Credit: Angela Moscaritolo/PCMag)

Apple’s main competitor in the smartwatch space, Samsung, saw a 19% year-over-year decline during Q3, Counterpoint says. But that was due to a drop in people buying older versions of its Galaxy Watch. The proportion of Galaxy Watch 6 Classic purchases over the summer “increased compared to last year’s 5 Pro, contributing to the rise in the [average sale price] of the brand.”

The big winner of the quarter is a company that doesn’t do much business in the US these days: Huawei, which was up 56% year-over-year. Most of that growth happened in the Chinese domestic market, where the company recently launched Huawei 5G smartphones that were bundled with smartwatches. The company’s HLOS smartwatches — smartwatches that run an OS and are capable of running apps — saw a 122% increase in shipments in Q3 while its Watch 4 and 4 Pro series, released in Q2, and the Watch GT 4, released in Q3, also saw strong sales.

“Amid a global economic slowdown, most consumer device markets like smartphones are still experiencing stagnation compared to a year ago. In contrast, the smartwatch market has recorded YoY growth for two consecutive quarters in both premium and budget segments,” says Counterpoint Research Analyst Woojin Son.

The Indian market, which is the worldwide leader in basic smartwatches — devices that cannot install third-party apps— made up 35% of total global smartwatches shipments. Fire-Boltt is the leader there, though all three major Indian brands — Fire-Boltt, Noise, and boAt — are currently experiencing a slower growth than before, signifying market stabilizing in the region.