The Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) wearables market experienced a modest 1.8% growth in 2022, reaching 259.1 million units, recording its lowest annual growth ever. Market demand for wearables was negatively impacted by rising commodity prices, reduced consumer spending, and lockdowns in China. In 4Q22, vendors took a conservative approach to manage inventory, resulting in an 8.3% year-over-year decrease.
| Vendor | Market Share |
|---|---|
| Apple | 13.1% |
| Imagine | 11.3% |
| Xiaomi | 8.5% |
| Huawei | 8.5% |
| Samsung | 5.5% |
| Others | 53.1% |
Despite the market volatility, IDC predicts a 15.2% year-on-year growth in the region’s wearable market for 2023, and while the company doesn’t publicly break out the different categories, it does state that smartwatches are the fastest-growing category. India is expected to surpass China as the largest market for smartwatch shipments in the region this year. Smartwatches experienced 23.3% growth during 2022, with Apple surpassing Huawei as the market leader.
You can compare this to recent data on worldwide shipments of wearables:
| 2022 Shipments | 2022 Market share | 2021 Shipments | 2021 Market share | YoY growth | |
| Apple | 146.3 | 29.70% | 161.8 | 30.30% | -9.60% |
| Samsung | 43.1 | 8.80% | 48.2 | 9.00% | -10.70% |
| Xiaomi | 34.7 | 7.10% | 54.2 | 10.20% | -35.90% |
| Huawei | 33.3 | 6.80% | 42.7 | 8.00% | -21.90% |
| Imagine Marketing | 29.3 | 6.00% | 26.8 | 5.00% | 9.30% |
| Others | 205.3 | 41.70% | 199.7 | 37.40% | 2.80% |
You can then correlate that data with the existing data on the top five regional smartwatch vendors’ market share to get a fairly good idea of the total market opportunity in unit shipment terms and assess the opportunity with the given growth parameters for smartwatches.
| Top 5 smartwatch vendors | Market rank | Share of the wearables market |
| Apple | 1 | 13.3% |
| Huawei | 2 | 8.5% |
| Nexxbase (India) | 3 | <5% |
| Fire-Boltt (India) | 4 | <5% |
| BBK (China) | 5 | <5% |
The Growing Opportunity for Affordable Smartwatch Brands
With that information at hand, a clear picture emerges of the region’s smartwatch opportunities which, by all indications, means working with regional brands, particularly out of India, that are very localized. My key takeaways for the region would be:
- Smartwatches are growth opportunities: With smartwatches being the fastest-growing category, suppliers should prioritize providing components tailored to this segment to capitalize on its growth potential.
- Cater to affordable brands: The rise of affordable Indian brands and the expansion of Chinese smartphone brands in the wearables market presents opportunities for suppliers. Providing cost-effective, high-quality components to these emerging players can help expand market share and establish long-term partnerships.
- Monitor regional trends: As India is expected to surpass China as the largest market for smartwatch shipments in the region, suppliers should pay close attention to regional trends and preferences, adjusting their offerings and strategies accordingly.
