Smartwatches are continuing to grow even amid the on-going pandemic, and it’s Apple, Huawei and Samsung that are the key winners.
In the study by Counterpoint Research, Apple still maintains a smartwatch lead, nixing the charge from brands such as Huawei and Amazfit by extending its market share to 28% (up 2% YOY).
The launch of the sub $300 Apple Watch SE has generated a new surge of interest in the Apple Watch. And with the Series 3 still at $199, it has now got something for most budgets.
Huawei is now the second biggest global shipper of smartwatches, and has upped its market share market share 33% year-on-year to 15%.
Samsung has also upped its share to 10%. That's up 2% on 2019. It might have been hoping for more traction with its new Galaxy Watch 3, but commands a top price point for its latest ECG-toting smartwatch.
The rest of the market is largely unchanged, with Fitbit (6%), Garmin (5%) both non-movers. Amazfit only managed a 1% increase to 5%, which is a surprise given the amount of smartwatches released by the company in 2020.
Fossil still figures in the running, but its share dipped from 4% to 2% of global shipments.
Clearly, Huawei is becoming a force in China – with the Huawei Watch GT 2e and GT 2 Pro both providing great features and battery life all at a great price. And its 15% market share tallies with a report from Canalys back in June.
But it still shows that Apple is staying ahead of the competition, managing to head off the budget brigade with a range of offerings.
How that changes in 2021, with the likes of Xiaomi releasing smartwatches into the West, and Amazfit partnering with Zepp, remains to be seen.
How we test
James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.
He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.
James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.