The biggest scoop from this though remains the fact that India is now the leading market for smartwatches and has seen a year-on-year growth of 171 percent by the year’s third quarter.
Affordable smartwatches spiraled growth
India’s rank in this market for the current year can be attributed to the immense number of options in the segment clubbed with affordable rates. Beside easy-to-afford buys, smartwatches have caught up on the festive fervor that returned to India this year, post the pandemic-induced lull. The most popular features that these smartwatches excited users about are the Bluetooth calling mode. This alone contributed to about 58 percent share among the total India-bound shipments. Shipments also scaled up thanks to the demand of smartwatches with larger displays.
Ending with ranks that matter
It is important to also note that the global smartwatch segment saw growth spiked by about 35 percent year-on-year thanks to the need for basic smartwatches. For India, Noise ranks at the top with 25.2% share in India (with a global rank of three). Fire-Boltt followed a close second with 24.6% share and boAt ranked third with a 16.8 percent share to name. Xiaomi follows next though the share holding is just 4.2 per cent while Huawei occupied fifth rung with a 3.2 percent share in the Indian market.
Summing up
Anshika Jain, senior analyst at Counterpoint, says, “India’s smartwatch market grew 171% YoY in Q3 2022 to become the biggest market in the world. The main factor behind the record quarter was India’s festive season. Indian brands expanding their product portfolios at affordable price points and emphasis on local manufacturing also contributed to the growth.” In the high-level smartwatch segment, Apple held share of 56 per cent in overall shipments. It also saw year-on-year growth touching 48 per cent. Samsung holds 22.3 percent share and is followed by Amazfit, Huawei and then Garmin.
