The third quarter of 2022 has seen India emerge as the world’s biggest smartwatch market, overtaking even the likes of North America (yes, the entire continent) and China. According to Counterpoint Research’s latest Global Smartwatch Model Tracker, the Indian smartwatch market recorded phenomenal growth in the third quarter, which not only took it to the top spot in global markets but also placed Indian brands right up there with the biggest in the business. Counterpoint Research’s report on the third quarter also highlighted a number of developments and trends in both the global as well as Indian smartwatch markets. Here are some of the highlights of the report:
(Note: Counterpoint classifies smartwatches into two categories – HLOS, which run a high level operating system such as Watch OS or Wear OS and run third party apps, and Basic, which run lighter operating system and do not support third party apps)
Sound the trumpets: India is the world’s biggest smartwatch market, thanks to phenomenal growth
The smartphone market in India might be in the midst of a slowdown but the smartwatch market seems to be booming. The Indian smartwatch market recorded a staggering 171 per cent year on year growth in Q3 2022. And this growth spurred it to become the biggest smartwatch market in the world for the first time ever. India had a 30 per cent share of the global smartwatch market in Q3 2022, which was more than double its share of 14 per cent in the same quarter last year. This put it comfortably ahead of North America which had a 25 per cent share, and China, which had a 16 per cent share of the market in the quarter. Interestingly, North America which was the market leader in this regard, actually recorded a 21 per cent growth in the quarter, but this was dwarfed by India’s dramatic growth.
Bluetooth calling and larger displays drive growth
As per a senior analyst in Counterpoint, Bluetooth calling and larger displays were main reasons for this dramatic growth of the smartwatch market in India. As per the analyst, 58 per cent of the smartwatches shipped in Q3 2022 in India had Bluetooth calling on them, while more than half had displays that were 1.5 inches to 1.69 inches in size.
Noise is number one in India, number three globally
The Indian smartwatch market’s growth of 171 per cent was amazing, but Indian brand Noise exceeded even that, recording 218 per cent year on year growth to continue as the leading brand in the Indian smartwatch market. This growth took it to third place in the global smartwatch market, just behind the Big Two, Apple and Samsung.
The number four global smartwatch brand is Indian too…and so is number six
India’s impact on the global smartphone market can be gauged by the fact that the brand with the fourth most shipments (after Apple, Samsung and Noise) was an Indian one too. This was Fire-Boltt, which rather remarkably did not record any year on year growth in the quarter but still did well enough to be at number four. At number six in the global ranking was another Indian brand, Boat, which ran up shipments of 2 million in the quarter.
Basic smartwatches grow, but HLOS watches still dominate
Both the high level operating system (HLOS) and basic smartwatches recorded impressive global growth in Q3 2022. While HLOS shipments grew by 23 per cent, basic smartwatch growth almost doubled in this quarter, which is an indication that smartwatch growth is being driven by aggressive pricing at affordable levels. However, at the global level, HLOS smartwatches still dominate with 65 per cent market share, with basic smartwatches accounting for 35 per cent. Not only that, the HLOS watches dominate in terms of value, thanks to their higher price tags, with a market size that is ten times that of basic watches.
Indian brands rule basic smartwatches
Indian brands called the shots in the basic smartwatch segment, with the top three brands in the market all coming from India. Noise and Fire-Boltt were neck and neck for the first spot, with Noise coming out ahead with a 25.2 per cent share, just ahead of Fire-Boltt’s 24.6 per cent. In third place was Boat with 16.8 per cent. As these brands are mainly present in the Indian market, their share also reflects just how much of the global smartphone market is influenced by India. Just for the record, the fourth place in the global basic smartwatch market is held by Xiaomi with 4.2 per cent, with Huawei coming fifth with 3.2 per cent. Interestingly, the shares of the fourth and fifth brand combined are still less than half of Boat, which is the third placed brand!
In HLOS smartwatches, Apple calls the shots even now (courtesy Apple Watch series 8)
There are many who credit Apple with driving the smartwatch revolution and the Cupertino company continues to be the dominant player in the global HLOS smartwatch segment, accounting for slightly more than half (50.6 per cent) of all the watches shipped in this segment. The Apple Watch Series 8 played a major role in this, accounting for 56 per cent of all of Apple’s shipments. Apple recorded a 48 per cent year on year growth, but its share actually slipped from 54 per cent in Q2 2022, due to a slump in the North American and European markets.
Samsung grows globally, shrinks in India
Samsung had a slightly mixed quarter. On the global level, it recorded a 62 per cent year on year growth, riding on the Galaxy Watch 5 series and took second place in the global HLOS watch segment with a 22.3 per cent share (a 5 per cent increase quarter on quarter). In India, however, its share fell below 3 per cent. As per the report, even in the overall global market, Samsung was not too far ahead of Noise.
Huawei grows, Garmin stays steady
Huawei might not be among the top smartphone brands, but it remains a formidable presence in smartwatches. The Chinese brand ran up 65 per cent year on year growth and took fifth place in the global market. Garmin did not record any growth in terms of shipments but its revenues went up by 11 per cent, thanks to a high average selling price (higher even than the Apple Watch, as per Counterpoint).