Highlights
- Smartwatches, a key wearable product category has seen a decline.
- TWS is a key performer in the earwear category.
- Smart rings are gaining momentum.
International Data Corporation (IDC) has released the Indian Monthly Wearable Device Tracker, which shares some revealing stats about this sector. On one hand, the IDC report tells the Indian wearable market has soared to 25.6 million units in the first quarter of 2024. That’s a 2.1 percent year-over-year (YoY) jump. Meanwhile, it also flags the drop in the average selling price (ASP) of the overall wearable market. Here are the full findings:
India’s wearable market performance 1Q24
Smartwatches
- When we say wearable, smartwatches are the first device category that comes to mind. However, it has seen its first decline since 2018. Per IDC, it has reduced by 7.3% YoY to 9.6 million units.
- Within the wearable space, smartwatches occupy just 37.6 percent market share. This was 41.4 percent in the same quarter last year. IDC points out excess inventory in the online channels and a dearth of new options for this decline.
- Also, the smartwatch ASP has also dropped from US$29.24 1Q23 to US$20.65 1Q24. This is believed to be because of online sale discounts and deals.
- Interestingly, the market share of advanced smartwatches has jumped to 3.2 percent this quarter, from 2.0 percent same quarter last year.
Earwear
- The earwear or hearables or earphone category has risen by 8.3 percent YoY. The total shipments touched 15.9 million units.
- True Wireless Stereo (TWS) is the leading sub-category with 19% YoY growth, achieving a 70.1 percent market share. Their ASP has fallen though by 7.3 percent to US $16.62. This is probably because of online discounts and offers.
- Meanwhile, the wired and over-the-ear earphones saw a 10.6 percent drop.
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Smart rings
- Smart rings are gaining more traction. In the first quarter of this year, 64,000 smart rings with an ASP of US $173.06 have been shipped.
- Ultrahuman is the market leader in this category.
| Brand | Market share |
| Ultrahuman | 43.9% |
| Pi Ring | 40.1% |
| Aabo | 8.4% |
Top performing smartwatch companies 1Q24
- Per IDC, new players in this field are gaining while the collective market share of top brands in India (BoAt, Noise, Fire-Bolt, Boult, and OPPO) have dropped from 63.9 percent to 59.9 percent. The top 3 players have suffered from excess channel inventory.
