According to the latest report from market research firm IDC, Huawei has taken the top spot in global shipments of wrist-worn devices with significant year-on-year growth. The Chinese tech brand has overtaken Apple to take the top spot in global wrist-wearable shipments for the first three quarters of 2024. Xiaomi came in third place, while Samsung and BBK brands stood at fourth and fifth place respectively. The launch of Huawei GT 5 series and Watch D2 is being considered a major reason for Huawei’s growth. China emerged as the largest market for wrist-worn devices during the same period.
Apple is lagging behind in the market
IDC revealed in its latest Worldwide Wearables Quarterly Tracker report that the global wrist-worn device market sold 139.0 million units in the first three quarters of 2024, a decline of 1.0 percent year-on-year. Despite the decline, Huawei claimed the top spot by shipping 23.6 million units in the first three quarters of this year with a year-on-year growth rate of 44.3 percent, overtaking Apple. The popularity of Huawei Watch GT 5, Watch D2 and GT 5 Pro boosted Huawei’s growth. During this period it got 16.9 percent market share.
Apple took second place with 22.5 million shipments and 16.2 percent market share in the first three quarters of 2024. The report observed that the Cupertino-based company has been challenged by products from higher price segments in the wrist-worn business. However, Apple Watch still ranks first in the global smartwatch market.
Xiaomi ranked third with 20.5 million shipments. The launch of the new Xiaomi Band 9, the popularity of Xiaomi Watch S and good market response led to a significant increase in Xiaomi’s total market shipments of wrist-worn devices. Samsung and BBK are other brands that have made it to IDC’s top five list. The former marked 11.5 million wearable shipments, while the latter marked 7.8 million wearable shipments.
Samsung achieved a good market share of 8.3 percent, achieving a growth of 24.3 percent year-on-year, while BBK had a market share of 5.6 percent and a growth of 25.9 percent year-on-year.
The survey found that China’s wrist-worn device market sold 45.8 million units, an increase of 20.1 percent year-on-year. As the largest market for shipments of wrist-worn devices, China led global growth, while India and the United States saw declines in shipments.
