India tops China to become second biggest smartwatch market in the world in Q2 22, report

India surpassed China to become the second biggest smartwatch market in the world for the first time in the three months ending June of CY2022, according to a Counterpoint Research report. Smartwatch shipments in India grew 347% year-on-year (YoY) during the quarter while the global market grew at just 13% YoY, the UK-based market research firm said. 

North America with 26% of shipments remains the largest smartwatch market, even though its shipments fell by 4% YoY. In comparison, India and China accounted for 22% and 21% of the global market, respectively in the June quarter. Shipments in China fell by 10%. 

India’s growth was largely driven by shipments by homegrown brands Fire-Boltt and Noise, who made it to the list of global top five smartwatch brands for the first time. Noise registered a 298% YoY increase in shipments and did well in both online and offline markets. Despite this growth, Noise slipped to the second position in India, while Fire-Boltt moved to the first place, according to Counterpoint.  

“During the quarter, 30% of models shipped in the Indian market sold for less than $50, and major local brands launched cost-effective models, lowering the entry barriers for consumers,” said Sujeong Lim, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research. 

Lim attributed the decline in shipments in China to the economic slowdown. As a result of this, all major Chinese brands such as Huawei, imoo, and Amazfit saw limited growth or decline, he added. 

Apple retained the top slot in the global smartwatch market accounting for 29.3% of the overall shipments, followed by Samsung (9.2%) and Huawei (6.8%). Fire-Boltt (6.3%) and Noise (5.9%) moved to fourth and fifth position, respectively, replacing BBK Group’s imoo and US-based Garmin. 

Though Apple’s shipments grew by 8% YoY, the excitement around the Apple Watch 7 series has weakened, resulting in a decline in its shipments in comparison to the March quarter. On the other hand, Samsung grew 40% YoY on account of the strong interest in the Galaxy 4 Watch series, particularly in North America and India. Apple is expected to launch Watch Series 8 on September 7.