India’s smartwatch shipments stagnate for the first time as top players struggle: Report

Indian smartwatch market

Counterpoint Technology Market Research has released a new report regarding the Indian smartwatch market. According to this report, the Indian smartwatch shipments have remained flat in Q1 2024, with a mere 0.3% year-on-year (YoY) increase, recording the market’s first-ever stagnation.

The report further suggests that previously the smartphone market saw a sharp rise because of high demand by most youngsters in the past few years. However, this muted growth in the first quarter of 2024 can be attributed to a decline in replacement watches and lower interest amongst most prospective buyers.

“The overall market, which has been registering double- and triple-digit growth over the last couple of years, remained flat in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024 as some top brands faced difficulties in clearing their existing stocks,” said Anshika Jain, senior research analyst at Counterpoint Research.

Fire-Boltt has maintained the top spot with a 28% market share despite a 15% YoY decline in total shipments. On the other hand, Noise's market share remained flat at 24% despite a slight dip in shipments. However, Boat has been one biggest losers in the last quarter, as its market share fell to 15% after a significant 24% drop in shipments.

In the premium smartwatch segment, Apple grew by more than 3x due to continued demand for the latest Apple smartwatches like Apple Watch Serie 9 and Ultra 2. Samsung also saw a slight increase, as the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 series accounted for more than half of the company’s sales.

Further, Counterpoint’s research analyst, Harshit Rastogi said that the smartwatch market is expected to witness a double-digit percentage decline by the end of 2024.