The smartwatch market is constantly growing and Apple continues to dominate it, but from the latest Counterpoint Research report for the whole of 2021 there are some surprises that are worth reporting. Meanwhile, Apple’s lead is shrinking, with shares of 30.1% compared to 32.9% in 2020; then second place went to Samsung, ousting Huawei which despite having lost a lot (from 10.7% to 7.7%) remains firm in third position. The South Korean company went from 8.9% of shares to 10.2%.
In short, the leadership of the Apple and its Apple Watch is not in question, and if you look at the profits it is even more clear, since they represent over 50% of the total. The absence of a new SE model has increased the average price of the range by 3%. But it is clear that Samsung’s change of strategy has paid off: with the latest generation of Galaxy Watch, the South Korean company has returned to Wear OS and entered into a partnership with Google; and the result was a doubling of shipments from quarter to quarter (second to third), making it his best quarter ever.
Huawei’s situation is not difficult to explain since it is still subject to heavy restrictions due to the US ban. However, it is interesting to note that shipments more than doubled in the quarter coinciding with the release of the latest Watch GT 3 and Watch Fit Mini.
Overall, the global smartwatch market grew 24%, and most of the credit goes to India. In 2020, sales in that region represented just 3% of the total, in 2021 they grew to 10%. That was enough to place Noise, the most popular brand in those parts, in the global top 10, with 2.6% of shares. To say, Xiaomi is just above 3.6% (although it is fair to consider that we are talking about smartwatches only, no smartband, and that Xiaomi is also present in the ranking with the Amazfit brand, owned by its subsidiary Huami, with the 5 , 1% of global shares).
