Wearable market share jumps in Q2 2022, smart bands lose ground

There are a plethora of smart bands available on the market that are being sold as “smartwatches.” In reality, these are just fitness bands with some locked-in features. A smartwatch, such as the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, or an Apple Watch, allows the user to install apps from the App Store or Play Store, and tweak its features, as you would do on your Android or iPhone.

However, these basic smart bands or smart wearables have given the taste of high-end smartwatches to millions across the globe. And thanks to that, according to the latest Canalys report, the total global shipment of smart wearables that includes basic bands and smartwatches, in Q2 2022 rose to 41.7 million units. Out of which, basic watches witnessed a big 46.6% increase in shipments, while smartwatches (those that are actual ones) saw a 9.3% increase in market share in Q2 2022.

India’s wearable band market performance was the highlight in Q2, with impressive shipment growth of 275%

Apple, just like in previous years, stood at the top with 8.4 million smartwatches shipped, amassing 26.4% of the market share. Samsung took the second spot with 2.8 million smartwatch shipments, while Huawei came in a close third after recording 2.6 million shipments in Q2 2022. In all of this, the basic smart bands or fitness bands market share declined in sales by 35.5% in Q2 2022.

There is great news for the Indian brand, Noise. It achieved a staggering 382% increase in shipments for a total of 1.8 million. In total, Noise along with other Indian smart wearable brands such as Fire-Boltt and boAT found repeat success and managed 1 million shipments per quarter. This helped India to achieve its highest ever market share and also become the world’s largest market in Q2 2022 with 15% of the pie.