According to Canalys, the global market for wearables, audio and wrist devices grew throughout 2020. The most important increase was in wireless earphones and headphones, which gained + 20% year-on-year, with Apple leading the sector. .
Slightly lower the growth of smartwatches and smartbands, equal to + 10%, where Xiaomi stands out, with a market share of 37.7%, followed by Apple and Huawei (including Honor).
The IDC surveys came to similar results, with + 28.4% of the total wearables segment compared to 2019. According to Canalys data, today there are 432 million wearable audio accessories in the world, while watches and smart bands for fitness amounted to approximately 185 million.
The agency predicts that the curve will remain uphill also in 2021.
However, due to the slowdown in supply chains and water shortages (critical for silicon), growth will be less noticeable: + 15.6% for audio and + 10% for wrist wearables.
Regarding the individual brands, the only company to have lost shares in 2020 was Fitbit, which reported a -16.3% compared to all of 2019.
Huawei, with Honor, obtained + 46.6%, even if at the end of 2020 the Shenzen giant sold its subsidiary to the Chinese consortium Zhixin New Information Technology.
A few days ago, OnePlus also announced its entry into the smartwatch sector, with the launch of OnePlus Watch, available for sale starting April 26.
With the emergence of the pandemic, suppliers have jumped at the ability to give users quick and easy means by which to measure basic health levels, such as blood oxygen and blood pressure.
This has given them an absolute advantage in reaching a larger share of consumers globally.