IDC: Huawei was the #1 smartwatch maker in Q1-Q3 this year, Xiaomi was the fastest growing

The global market for wrist-worn smart devices – a category that combines smartwatches with the simpler fitness trackers – has reached 150+ million units shipped during the first three quarters of this year. This represents a 10% increase over the same period last year, IDC reports.

Of those, smartwatches accounted for nearly 120 million units, up 7.3% year-on-year. The simple and affordable fitness trackers saw a bigger increase in demand, up 21.3% year-on-year, with a total of 32.86 million units.

Huawei was the global leader during these 9 months. The Huawei Watch GT 6 and Watch GT 6 Pro helped bolster shipments. And while Huawei’s total of 28.6 million units shipped globally is impressive, the vast majority of those – 20.8 million – went to China. IDC says that Huawei is working on expanding its overseas presence.

Global market for wrist-worn smart devices (source: IDC)

Xiaomi holds the #2 spot and was the fastest-growing manufacturer among the Top 5. It shipped 27.9 million units with strong demand for affordable models like the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 and the various Redmi Watches. Xiaomi was strong in China, of course, but also had a notable presence in Southeast Asia and South America.

In contrast, Apple, which is #3 globally and #4 in China, only offers mid-range to high-end models. This year the focus was on advancing connectivity features like 5G and satellite messaging.

Chinese market for wrist-worn smart devices (source: IDC)

IDC says that such advanced connectivity, along with integrating AI applications and ever more sophisticated health-tracking features, will be the key drivers of growth for the next year. That is for all companies, not just Apple.

Samsung (#4 globally) had been on a decline for the first half of the year when the Galaxy Watch8 and Galaxy Watch8 Classic arrived (in Q3) and pushed the company to higher numbers year-on-year for the first three quarters.

Source (in Chinese)