International gross sales of smartwatches have fallen for the primary time, new figures point out, largely attributable to a pointy decline within the reputation of market chief, Apple.
Market analysis agency Counterpoint says 7% fewer of the gadgets have been shipped in 2024 in comparison with the yr earlier than.
Shipments of Apple Watches fell by 19% in that interval, Counterpoint says.
It blames the stoop on a scarcity of latest options in Apple’s newest gadgets, and the very fact a rumoured high-end Extremely 3 mannequin by no means materialised.
“The largest 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,” mentioned 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 concerning blood oxygen degree 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 remaining three months of 2024, down from 25% a yr 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 yr over yr,” mentioned Leo Gebbie, principal analyst at CCS Perception.
Regardless of the general decline, final yr did see an enormous rise in gross sales for Chinese language-made smartwatches from manufacturers corresponding to Xiaomi, Huawei and Imoo.
Gross sales in China additionally grew from 19% of the market to 25% within the yr from the final quarter of 2023.
This was the primary time it recorded extra smartwatch gross sales than India or North America, based on Counterpoint.
The Chinese language producers additionally appeared to faucet into one other pattern – the rising reputation of smartwatches for youngsters, the one phase of the market to develop in 2024.
Imoo, recognized in China as “Little Genius”, specialises in kids’s sensible watches and noticed a 22% rise in shipments.
“The youngsters’ sensible watch phase is gaining traction as dad and mom are involved for his or her kids’s security, they usually want to trace and keep continuously related with their kids,” Counterpoint’s Balbir Singh mentioned.
However Imoo was eclipsed by a 135% rise in shipments from Beijing-based tech firm Xiaomi.
Its Sensible Band exercise trackers promote for a fraction of the value of rivals made by Apple and Samsung.
“We’re seeing the big shopper electronics gamers like Apple and Samsung actually simply look to drive a approach greater margin and never interact within the worth conflict,” mentioned Mr Gebbie.
“Xiaomi has accomplished a extremely good job of promoting gadgets, significantly in areas like southern and japanese Europe the place that better affordability tends to resonate much more strongly with clients.”
One other giant contributor to the worldwide gross sales drop was India, which fell from 30% of the market to 23%.
He mentioned this was partly due to a “bubble” in ultra-cheap gadgets from Indian producers which has now burst.
“We learn and noticed lots when it comes to complaints concerning the high quality of gadgets, with individuals being sad with them,” he mentioned.
“For these firms, there’s been a way that from this level onwards they might be higher served by perhaps 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 might be pushed by the growing adoption of AI options, and a better emphasis of offering a wider vary of well being knowledge.
