The smartwatch market, connected watches, continues to lose points. As reported by the latest data from Counterpoint Research, the sector is experiencing a contraction of 1.5% in the first quarter of 2023, after a 2022 closed at -8%. In a downward global scenario, only India recorded an important increase, equal to +121%. This figure, considering the general average, therefore leads the entire segment to obtain a + 12% in the reference quarter, a figure "distorted" by the Indian boom, behind which hides a generalized economic crisis, accentuated by the conflict in Ukraine and the continuing difficulties of the supply chain of technological components. Counterpoint Research explains the data in contrast to the trend of India with an evidence: for analysts to have lost more positions are the premium smartwatches, such as Apple Watch and the counterpart Samsung Galaxy, compared to the medium-low offers that instead take share. On a consumer population as large as India, the difference in devices shipped is real. Leading the market is Apple, which holds a 26% slice of the total, down from 32% in the first quarter of 2022. In second place are Fire-Boltt and Samsung, both at 9%.
The Indian company, however, is ahead in terms of quarterly growth, so much so that in a year it has gone from being positioned in the "Others" item to having a segment all to itself. In terms of macro-regions, India overtook North America for smartwatch shipments, compared with 121% year-on-year growth. China is also paying the price, going from 24% in the first quarter of 2022 to 18% of the entire smartwatch sector, down 6 percentage points. Analyst Woojin Son said: "The global smartwatch market, which has experienced strong growth for several years, has entered a period of stagnation. Amid a global slowdown in demand, consumption trends have changed and rely much more on spending than before. These numbers confirm this".
