Smartwatches drive wearable market growth in India, says IDC – Times of India

NEW DELHI: According to recent data from IDC, the Indian wearable market grew 170.3% year-over-year (YoY) in Q1 21 (Jan-Mar), shipping 11.4 million units. This growth can be attributed to the watch and earwear segment. As per the report, the strong momentum in the watch and earwear categories led to the highest ever first-quarter shipments in India.
Watches grew 463.8% YoY in Q1 21 to become the fastest-growing category in wearables, replacing earwear which also maintains a triple-digit growth in the first quarter of 2021. However, shipments for overall wearables fell by 24.9% sequentially in Q1 21, owing primarily to a drop in earwear shipments. Following three-quarters of tremendous growth, the earwear category experienced a quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) decline of 28.6% in the quarter.

Top players in the wearable segment
Xiaomi maintained its lead in the wristband category with a 37.3% category share in this quarter. OnePlus, the new entrant in this category, finished second, replacing Realme with a 25.2% share in the quarter.
The smartwatch segment is led by Noise with a 26.7%share, followed by BoAt with a 21.9% share. “With a surge of low-cost devices in the market, the ASP of the category fell to $88, down from $166 in 1Q21. Moreover, the ASP of the category also declined by 31.0% from the previous quarter. This trend highlights that vendors are aggressively looking to capitalize on this market by introducing more affordable devices,” adds the report.
The Earwear category grew 209.3% YoY with 9.3 million shipments in the first quarter of the year. BoAt, with its multiple devices in its portfolio, continued to lead the overall earwear category with a 29.3% share, followed by OnePlus accounting for a 15.1% share.
Lastly, the Truly Wireless Stereo (TWS) category grew 284.4% YoY with a 35.0% share in the overall earwear category. This category was also led by BoAt with a 25.6% share and One Plus finished second with an 11.9% share.
Commenting on the growth of the Indian wearables market, Jaipal Singh, Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India said, “From style to health monitoring, the wearables have now become one of the most sophisticated devices in recent times. The category is witnessing a constant shift in the competitive landscape with new players entering the segment.”