India has the world’s largest smartwatch market.

Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro Smartwatch

In the third quarter of this year, India surpassed North America and China as the world’s largest smartwatch market, thanks to local brands, low-cost products, and festive demand.

The leadership is significant because the brands contributing to the surge are mostly domestic, in contrast to the situation in smartphones, where Chinese companies dominate. The key global brands, Samsung and Apple, are also seeing healthy demand in India, albeit with lower absolute volumes due to premium pricing.

According to Counterpoint Research, India’s share of the global smartwatch market increased to 30% in the July-September 2022 quarter, surpassing North America’s 25% and China’s 16%. In the same quarter last year, India ranked third with a 14% share, trailing only China (22%). North America led with 27% of the market.

Noise (which leads the smartwatch category) and Fire-Boltt have led the way in terms of volume in India. The quarter saw 171% growth, despite China falling 28% due to Covid restrictions and the economic downturn. China’s market size shrank for the fourth quarter in a row.

According to Anshika Jain, senior analyst at Counterpoint, a number of factors contributed to India’s surge. “The main factor was the festive season in India. Indian brands expanding their product portfolios at lower price points, as well as an emphasis on local manufacturing, contributed.”

North America, the largest market from Q4 2020 to Q2 2022, experienced a relatively moderate growth of 21%.

According to local contract manufacturers in the smartwatch segment, the trend will only intensify. “The government has provided an enabling policy framework,” said Ashok Gupta, chairman of Optiemus Electronics, which makes Noise and other brands’ smartwatches.

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