The phone market is currently in decline, but wearables have no such problem. The latest statistics from Counterpoint show that global smartwatch sales will grow 12% year-on-year in 2022, while high-end products retailing above $400 will see a staggering 129% growth over 2021. is shown.
The entry-level sub-$100 category also grew slightly, while the rest shrank as the market consolidated around budget and high-end. North America is again the largest wearables market, with sales up 6% for him in 2022, and India, with a massive 151% year-on-year increase, puts him in second place.
Samsung is second with a global market share of 9.8%, and although the Korean manufacturer’s sales increased by 12% (no doubt due to the launch of the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro), overall 2022 Revenue increased by only 0.5%. It’s similar to what brands are seeing in the phone segment, with Samsung posting its lowest profit in eight years in Q4 2022.
Samsung hasn’t changed much, but Apple continues to extend its lead in the wearables segment. The brand once again became the world’s leading wearables manufacturer, and in 2022 for the first time he achieved sales of 50 million units, an increase of 17%. It has a market share of 34.8%, but captured a staggering 60% of the overall revenue. This all comes down to smartwatch positioning.
I’m not at all surprised by these numbers. The Apple Watch is the only smartwatch I’ve used regularly in the last four years, and its biggest selling point is its software ecosystem. He used six of his Android smartwatches before I switched to the Apple Watch and was constantly frustrated by the weaknesses of Wear OS. The wearables I’ve used have either been laggy, lackluster in design, or have poor battery life.
Google made a fix with Wear OS 3, but the Apple Watch still has a commanding lead in this segment, and that’s unlikely to change. I’ve had the Apple Watch Series 8 for 4 months now, and while it’s not much different from its predecessor, it has features that I really use.
Take fitness for example. I became more active over the course of the pandemic and used my Apple Watch to monitor my workouts and calories burned. The biggest difference was social ability. It was easy to challenge friends and family, and it was only when I got a notification that my sister had done the same that I roused myself to ride a stationary bike and close the circle of hell. is a big motivation.
The combination of seamless integration with the services I use and great first-party apps is what keeps me on my Apple Watch. With Apple’s launch of the $799 Watch Ultra, it’s not hard to see why the brand has gained so much market share. of total revenue in 2022
Switching gear to the budget segment, the sharp rise in sales in India has rested on local players offering fitness bands and smartwatches for under $100. Having missed Xiaomi and Huawei by a wide margin, Noise has climbed quickly in India and, although sold in only one country, is now his fourth largest wearables brand in the world.
In that regard, Xiaomi has fallen to 11th place in the ranking. The brand continues to make the best budget fitness bands, but if you want a wearable under $100, the Mi Band 7 is the way to go. Advances in China and India. Similarly, Fitbit has lost market share in North America, and the brand is now in his 10th position globally.
The momentum is likely to continue in 2023, and we’ll have to wait and see if Android smartwatches can challenge the Apple Watch’s dominance this year.
