The wearables market grew 8.8% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter of last year. However, the market continues to shift towards cheaper models as this was the fifth consecutive quarter of average selling price (ASP) declines.
This information comes from IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker. Analysts say consumers don’t see much point in spending extra money on premium models and are mostly limited to mid-range and entry-level devices, hence the declining ASP.
But once advanced sensors, those capable of measuring blood pressure or glucose, hit the market, things will change and we may see premium models increase in popularity. Meanwhile, small regional brands are experiencing a heyday as their low-cost offerings enjoy a period of popularity.
Looking at individual brands, Apple is still the leader, but its market share has shrunk significantly (down nearly 19% year-over-year). Analysts attribute this problem to the sales ban and the subsequent removal of some features, but it’s also partly Apple’s fault. The wearables segment also includes headphones, not just smartwatches, and when was the last time Apple launched new headphones? The third-generation AirPods came out in late 2021, and the second-generation AirPods Pro in late 2022. The AirPods Max are even older and come from 2020.
Xiaomi is growing rapidly and registers an increase of almost 44% year-on-year. The company always offers new products at affordable prices, but its return to Wear OS has also been quite successful: according to IDC, Xiaomi is now the third largest manufacturer of Wear OS.
Huawei has displaced Samsung from third place: this is due to the company’s rebirth in the smartphone sector, which apparently has also boosted the fortunes of the wearables sector.
As for Samsung, the Galaxy Fit3 proved popular thanks to its lower price, but its success wasn’t enough to make up for the Galaxy Watch’s declining sales. At least not enough to keep up with Huawei. On the plus side, Samsung’s first-quarter growth of 13% is still better than the industry average of 8.8%.
Fifth place is occupied by Imagine Marketing – you may not have heard of them, but you may have heard of their brand “boAt”. Their headphones are doing well (up 17.5%), but smartwatches have tanked (down 61.3%).
| Top 5 Wearables Companies by Shipment Volume, Market Share, and Year-Over-Year Growth, Q1 2024 (shipments in millions) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agency | 1Q24 shipments | Q1 2024 market share | 1Q23 shipments | 1Q23 market share | Year-on-year growth |
| 1. Apple | 20.6 | 18.20% | 25.4 | 24.50% | -18.90% |
| 2. Xiaomi | 11.8 | 10.5% | 8.2 | 7.9% | 43.4% |
| 3.Huawei | 10.9 | 9.6% | 6.3 | 6.1% | 72.4% |
| 4.Samsung | 10.6 | 9.3% | 9.4 | 9.0% | 13.0% |
| 5. Imagine marketing | 6.1 | 5.4% | 6.4 | 6.2% | -4.8% |
| Others | 53.1 | 46.9% | 48.2 | 46.4% | 10.1% |
| Total | 113.1 | 100.0% | 104 | 100.0% | 8.8% |
| Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Wearables Tracker, June 4, 2024 | |||||
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