Global sales of smartwatches have fallen for the first time, new figures indicate, in large part due to a sharp decline in the popularity of market leader, Apple. Market research firm Counterpoint says 7% fewer of the devices were shipped in 2024 compared to the year before. Shipments of Apple Watches fell by 19% in that period, Counterpoint says. It blames the slump on a lack of new features in Apple’s latest devices, and the fact a rumoured high-end Ultra 3 model never materialised. The biggest driver of the decline was North America, where the absence of the Ultra 3 and minimal feature upgrades in the S10 lineup led consumers to hold back purchases. Apple was also hit with sales and import bans in the US in late 2023 and early 2024 over a disputed patent regarding blood oxygen level monitoring – which Ms. Jain says also contributed to lower sales figures in the first half of 2024. It retained 22% of market share in the final three months of 2024, down from 25% a year earlier.
Market research firm say We’ve been through a period where the smartwatch has gone from being a new and exciting gadget, to something now that’s stabilising – the feature set isn’t changing very dramatically year over year. Despite the overall decline, last year did see a massive rise in sales for Chinese-made smartwatches from brands such as Xiaomi, Huawei and Imoo. Sales in China also grew from 19% of the market to 25% in the year from the last quarter of 2023. This was the first time it recorded more smartwatch sales than India or North America, according to Counterpoint. The Chinese manufacturers also appeared to tap into another trend – the growing popularity of smartwatches for children, the only segment of the market to grow in 2024. Imoo, known in China as “Little Genius”, specialises in children’s smart watches and saw a 22% rise in shipments. But Imoo was eclipsed by a 135% rise in shipments from Beijing-based tech company Xiaomi. Its Smart Band activity trackers sell for a fraction of the price of rivals made by Apple and Samsung.
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