International gross sales of smartwatches have fallen for the primary time, new figures point out, largely on account of a pointy decline within the recognition of market chief, Apple.
Market analysis agency Counterpoint says 7% fewer of the units have been shipped in 2024 in comparison with the 12 months earlier than.
Shipments of Apple Watches fell by 19% in that interval, Counterpoint says.
It blames the droop on a scarcity of latest options in Apple’s newest units, and the actual fact a rumoured high-end Extremely 3 mannequin by no means materialised.
“The most important driver of the decline was North America, the place the absence of the Extremely 3 and minimal characteristic upgrades within the S10 lineup led shoppers to carry again purchases,” stated Counterpoint senior analysis analyst Anshika Jain.
Apple was additionally hit with gross sales and import bans within the US in late 2023 and early 2024 over a disputed patent relating to blood oxygen stage monitoring – which Ms Jain says additionally contributed to decrease gross sales figures within the first half of 2024.
It retained 22% of market share within the last three months of 2024, down from 25% a 12 months earlier.
“We have been via a interval the place the smartwatch has gone from being a brand new and thrilling gadget, to one thing now that is stabilising – the characteristic set is not altering very dramatically 12 months over 12 months,” stated Leo Gebbie, principal analyst at CCS Perception.
Regardless of the general decline, final 12 months did see an enormous rise in gross sales for Chinese language-made smartwatches from manufacturers resembling Xiaomi, Huawei and Imoo.
Gross sales in China additionally grew from 19% of the market to 25% within the 12 months from the final quarter of 2023.
This was the primary time it recorded extra smartwatch gross sales than India or North America, in accordance with Counterpoint.
The Chinese language producers additionally appeared to faucet into one other pattern – the rising recognition of smartwatches for youngsters, the one section of the market to develop in 2024.
Imoo, identified in China as “Little Genius”, specialises in kids’s sensible watches and noticed a 22% rise in shipments.
“The children’ sensible watch section is gaining traction as dad and mom are involved for his or her kids’s security, and so they need to trace and keep continuously linked with their kids,” Counterpoint’s Balbir Singh stated.
However Imoo was eclipsed by a 135% rise in shipments from Beijing-based tech firm Xiaomi.
Its Good Band exercise trackers promote for a fraction of the worth of rivals made by Apple and Samsung.
“We’re seeing the massive client electronics gamers like Apple and Samsung actually simply look to drive a method increased margin and never have interaction within the worth warfare,” stated Mr Gebbie.
“Xiaomi has completed a extremely good job of promoting units, significantly in areas like southern and japanese Europe the place that higher affordability tends to resonate much more strongly with prospects.”
One other giant contributor to the worldwide gross sales drop was India, which fell from 30% of the market to 23%.
He stated this was partly due to a “bubble” in ultra-cheap units from Indian producers which has now burst.
“We learn and noticed loads by way of complaints in regards to the high quality of units, with individuals being sad with them,” he stated.
“For these firms, there’s been a way that from this level onwards they might be higher served by possibly making and promoting merchandise with a barely longer lifespan.”
Counterpoint says it expects a small restoration within the world market, with “single-digit proportion progress in 2025”.
It predicts the uptick in gross sales will likely be pushed by the growing adoption of AI options, and a higher emphasis of offering a wider vary of well being knowledge.
