NEW DELHI: American technology giant Apple Inc. almost doubled shipments of its Apple Watch wearables in India in 2020, according to analysts. India sales surged on the back of stronger demand for the Apple Watch Series 3 and Series 6, said Navkendar Singh, research, International Data Corporation (IDC).
According to data from IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker for Q4, 2020, Apple accounted for 51% market share in India in the smartwatch category in 2020.
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India’s wearables market shifted from heavy demand of smartbands over the past few years to smartwatches in 2020. According to data from IDC, wristband sales declined 34.3% in 2020, while watches, which includes both smartwatches and regular watches, saw a massive 139.3% year-on-year growth in 2020, clocking a total of 2.9 million unit shipments in the year. Apple’s market share in the watch segment was pegged at 12.5%.
Experts attribute the growth in the smartwatches market to the influx of cheaper options in 2020, from brands like Noise, Xiaomi and Realme. While Noise led the watch category in India with 24.5% market share, Realme took the second spot at 15.7%.
Further, the wearables market posted a 144.3% overall growth in 2020, with 36.4-million-unit shipments in total. This though includes hearables, like true wireless earphones etc, alongside smartwatches and smartbands.
“Hearables became one of the most sought-after electronic categories in 2020. The newer version of hearables are much better in managing the increased audio usages and improved aesthetic and design also made them the trendsetter,” said Anisha Dumbre, market analyst, IDC India.
India was the only country amongst the top 20 that saw “triple-digit” growth in wearables in 2020 and is the third largest market for these devices in the world.
