Counterpoint: Apple continues to dominate the smartwatch market
Despite subsidies for Chinese products, Apple's market power in the smartwatch sector remains strong – and the segment continues to grow.
Apple Watch, here the Series 11.
(Image: Apple)
The Apple Watch hasn't been revolutionary for years; since the new form factor of the Ultra in 2022, Apple has only mildly updated its smartwatches with new chips and minor new features. Nevertheless, business continues to go well, as the latest figures from the market research company Counterpoint show. According to the data, Apple remains the global leader – and is even growing significantly in double digits in terms of sales figures. Meanwhile, China is trying to catch up with electronics subsidies for its own population, which is helping Huawei, among others.
High unit growth at Apple
The figures from Counterpoint are still from the first quarter – and are, at least for Apple, estimates and forecast figures from the supply chain, as Apple itself does not officially disclose them. The overall market for smartwatches grew by four percent from January to March, according to the Global Smartwatch Shipments Tracker. The driver, once again, was Apple with its models introduced in the fall, namely Series 11, Ultra 3, and SE 3.
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Apple's unit growth was 21 percent compared to the previous year; none of its competitors in the top 10 smartwatch brands grew as quickly. Its share of shipments was 23 percent. What sounds comparatively low is mainly because there are many inexpensive models on the market.
Samsung at Rank 5, declining trend
A big loser was Samsung with a decrease of 28 percent in shipments. Huawei ranks second with a 17 percent market share (plus 12 percent), followed by Xiaomi (10 percent, plus 9 percent) and Imoo (7 percent, plus 2 percent). Samsung is in fifth place with a 5 percent market share of shipped smartwatches.
All other smartwatch brands together account for 38 percent of shipments, a slight decrease of 3 percent. Counterpoint stated that the inexpensive SE 3 in particular attracted customers, as well as Apple's minor improvements in health functions, such as warnings for high blood pressure. Meanwhile, China extended its price relief for domestic electronics products, which helped Xiaomi as well as Huawei. Imoo, in turn, is known for its children's watches.
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