Smartwatches Are Gaining Momentum

If you talk about the biggest topic of the mobile phone industry in recent times, it is probably: this generation of young people do not love to change mobile phones.

In the context of the overall sluggish consumer electronics market, smartphone shipments have declined significantly. According to the latest research report published by StrategyAnalytics, global smartphone shipments in 2022 will decline by 7.8% year-on-year; Among them, in the Chinese market, the China ICT Institute released data showing that in the first half of 2022, domestic smartphone shipments were 134 million units, down 21.7% year-on-year, setting the worst performance in the domestic smartphone market since 2015.

However, some people are sad and some people are happy, at the other end of the consumer electronics market, smart watches are moving forward with rapid momentum toward the status of "standard" worn by young people.



Contrarian growth

According to the latest report of Counterpoint Research, the global smartwatch market is experiencing a significant growth in shipments. The market has been able to maintain this growth despite macro uncertainties such as inflation and geopolitical conflicts, which are usually expected to hinder growth, due to the increasing demand for smartwatches among consumers. With the advent of technology and the increasing emphasis on fitness and activity, smartwatches have become an essential accessory for many people.

This sustained growth is expected to continue, with Strategy Analytics predicting a 20% revenue growth in global smartwatch sales in 2022, largely due to the increasing adoption rate of smartwatches and the rise in disposable incomes of consumers. Furthermore, advancements in technology and the introduction of new features in smartwatches, such as GPS tracking, music playback, and mobile payment, are expected to drive the growth of the global smartwatch market in the coming years. As a result, the growth is expected to continue steadily until 2027, with smartwatches becoming an integral part of people's lives.

Looking at the Chinese market, IImedia Consulting data shows that the market size of smartphones in China reached 29.5 billion yuan in 2021. The market is expected to exceed 40 billion yuan in 2025, indicating a significant growth trend. E-commerce data further shows that sales of smart watches on Jingdong platform have been on the rise. In the first half of this year, sales of smart watches on the platform exceeded 3.9 million, generating a revenue of over 4.2 billion yuan. This represents an overall sales increase of about 21%, with sales increasing by about 26%.

Recent new products have also been frequently released in the market, including the latest releases from Apple, Huawei, OPPO, and Samsung. Apple launched Apple Watch Ultra, Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch SE three smart watches, while Huawei has released the Watch GT 3 Pro, Watch 3 Pro, Watch Fit 2 and other smart watch products. In August, OPPO officially released a new generation of OPPO Watch 3 series smart watches, including OPPO Watch 3 and Watch 3 Pro two products. Samsung also launched the new generation of smart watches Galaxy Watch5 series.

The growth of smart watches in the industry has been significant, and though there is still a certain gap in volume with smartphones, the flexible positioning of smart watches has paved the way for a "counter-attack war" to commence. This growth trend is expected to continue, as the market becomes more accepting of smart watches as a necessary accessory for everyday life.

Diversified development

Early on, there was a lot of discussion around whether the smartwatch was an accessory to the smartphone, defined as an accessory on the wrist, or a standalone digital product.

In the early stages, smartwatches were positioned closer to the accessories of smart phones or digital products, taking simple functions such as answering calls and recording data. The first smartwatch developed by Fossil was used as an accessory for PDA, while the first smartwatch from Citroen obtained various data from mobile phones through Bluetooth. In 2010, the sixth-generation iPod Nano hit the market, and iPod accessory maker Griffin Technologies launched the modern smartwatch era with its latest Slap case, which allows the Nano to be worn directly on your wrist.

In 2014, Apple launched the Apple Watch product, Apple CEO Tim Cook called it a "revolutionary product", Apple Watch can send and receive information, provide directions to users, track fitness data, wireless payment and so on. At the time, Time magazine described the Apple Watch as "a completely reimagined wrist computer, with a new interface that combines touch screens and physical buttons."

It is worth mentioning that early smart watches can not automatically connect to the network, need to connect to smart phones to play a greater role, and with the popularity of eSIM technology use, smart watches can have independent communication capabilities, become a real independent wearable device, smart watches also began to diversify bloom, such as health, entertainment, travel, social, etc. According to the IImedia consulting report, among the many functions of smart watches, health data monitoring is the most commonly used function by users, followed by GPS positioning, exercise records, sleep records, and calls.

In the field of health and sports, in running, fitness, swimming and other occasions, smart watches that are lighter, closer and easier to carry than smart phones have a better experience. Smart watches more as a "health butler", "life partner" role; It is worth mentioning that, in addition to continuously strengthening the health function, with the development of smart home, smart watches have gradually become one of the important entrances to smart home, to Huawei distance, its earlier proposed "1+8+N" full scene intelligent strategy, smart watches are one of the links, and like vivo, OPPO, Several products have been equipped with related modules or functions.

At present, the Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a game-changer in the world of smartwatches. The seamless integration of IoT and smartwatches has opened up a plethora of opportunities for the industry to innovate and bring out new, more advanced versions of these wearable devices. With IoT, smartwatches can now perform a range of functions, from tracking fitness goals to monitoring the weather and controlling smart home devices. However, this is just the beginning, and the future of smartwatches holds even greater potential.

As technology continues to evolve, smartwatches will likely see significant advancements in their design, features, and capabilities. With the integration of advanced sensors, smartwatches will be able to detect and monitor a wider range of health metrics, such as blood pressure and glucose levels. They may also incorporate augmented reality (AR) technology, allowing users to interact with virtual objects in real-time.

Moreover, smartwatches will become even more personalized, with the ability to analyze and interpret user data to provide more accurate and tailored feedback. They could even become an extension of our smartphones, with seamless connectivity and the ability to make calls and send messages without having to take out our phones. As the market for wearables continues to grow, it is clear that the future of smartwatches is incredibly exciting, and we are just getting started.

The Indian market is worth watching

The Counterpoint Research smartwatch report has revealed that North America is still dominating the market with a 31% market share. However, the growth of India's smartwatch market has been staggering, with a year-on-year increase of more than 300%. In fact, India has overtaken China to become the second largest market for smartwatches in the world.

Despite recent reports of India's crackdown on companies, it remains one of the most promising markets for consumption in the long term. The country's huge population makes for a large enough market space and user volume. Furthermore, with the rapid development of India's internet, e-commerce, and other industries, the public's demand for digital products is expected to increase, similar to the trend seen with smartphones in India.

According to the Deccan Herald, many Chinese brands have a good market share in India, with the "One Plus" and "True Me" brands ranking third and fifth in the Indian market, respectively. For smartwatch manufacturers, "going to sea" in India could be a viable option. In fact, just recently, Realme released a new Realme Watch 3 Pro smartwatch in India.

Industry analysts predict that the smartwatch market is on the rise and now may be a good time to "grab the beach and land." With the increasing popularity of wearable devices, the market for smartwatches is expected to continue growing in the coming years. Therefore, companies should consider expanding their presence in India to take advantage of this growth potential. One way to do this would be to establish partnerships with local retailers and distributors to increase accessibility and visibility of the product.

Additionally, companies could invest in marketing campaigns targeted towards Indian consumers to increase brand awareness and promote the benefits of smartwatches. Furthermore, companies should also focus on developing innovative features and functionalities that cater to the specific needs and preferences of Indian consumers. For example, incorporating features such as regional language support and local content integration could make smartwatches more appealing to the Indian market. By adopting these strategies, companies can tap into the growing demand for smartwatches in India and position themselves for long-term success in this lucrative market.


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