The global smartwatch market rebounded in Q3 2023 with a 9% increase in shipments – with Apple having its best third quarter ever – according to a new report.
The data released by Counterpoint Research, revealed strong performances in the Indian and Chinese markets, particularly from Fire-Boltt and Huawei.
Global smartwatch shipments increased from 38.8 million units in Q3 2022 to 42.4 million units in Q3 2023.
The Indian market was the main driver of growth, with shipments increasing by 27% YoY. Fire-Boltt was the top brand in India, with shipments of 5.6 million units.
Huawei also had a strong quarter, with shipments increasing by 24% YoY. This was due to the release of new models, such as the Watch 4 – but the rise was predominantly in the Chinese market.
Samsung declined 19% in worldwide shipments, but the Q3 data looks timed to not capture the effect of the Watch 6 and saw a significant drop off of its older Galaxy devices. However, it saw improved performance of its Galaxy Watch 6 Classic compared to the older Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.
According to Counterpoint Research's research analyst Woojin Son, "The growth of the global smartwatch market in Q3 2023 was driven by a number of factors, including the continued popularity of smartwatches for fitness tracking and health monitoring, the release of new smartwatch models with advanced features, and the increasing affordability of smartwatches."
Son also noted that the success of Huawei and Fire-Boltt shows that there is still a strong demand for smartwatches in emerging markets.
He said, "These two brands have a strong understanding of the needs of consumers in these markets and can offer affordable and feature-rich smartwatches that meet those needs."
The outlook for the global smartwatch market in Q4 2023 is positive, with analysts expecting continued growth.
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James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.
He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.
James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.