South Korean media: China surpasses India to become the largest smartwatch market in the world! On April 4, South Korean media "Everyday Economy" published an article stating that investigations found that the global shipment of smartwatches fell by 7% last year. China has surpassed India to become the largest smartwatch market in the world. According to Counterpoint Research's report, the global shipment of smartwatches showed its first negative growth of 7% since statistics began last year. The reason for the decline in shipments seems to be the poor performance of Apple, the leading brand in the market. According to Counterpoint, the shipment of Apple Watches fell sharply (down 19%) compared to the previous year last year, and its market share also dropped from 25% in 2023 to 22%. The underperformance of Apple Watch, which accounts for about a quarter of the smartwatch market, quickly led to a decline in the overall market. Senior analyst Anshika Jain of Counterpoint said, "Apple Watch, which celebrates its 10th anniversary, shows signs of weakening momentum. Patent disputes have negatively impacted shipments, while the slowdown of the SE product line and reduced feature upgrades have weakened consumer purchasing desires." From a regional perspective, the downturn in India was particularly evident. India's shipment volume fell by 22% last year, causing its market share in the global smartwatch market to drop 7 percentage points from 30% to 23%, and it also lost its position as the largest smartwatch market in the world. China made up for the downturn in India. With the increase in demand for various smartwatches, China has become the largest smartwatch market in the world, with its market share in the global smartwatch market growing from 19% to 25%, an increase of 6 percentage points. Counterpoint evaluated that not only in specialized products such as children's smartwatches but also in popular and high-end smartwatches, China achieved balanced growth last year, and for the first time surpassed the United States and India to take the top spot in the smartwatch market. The activity in China's smartwatch market has driven the growth of Chinese smartwatch brands. Huawei's shipment increased by 35%, further widening its lead over Samsung and ranking second after Apple. Xiaomi successfully entered the top five smartwatch brands for the first time with its Redmi Watch, achieving a record-breaking three-digit (135%) growth rate. BBK Imoo also achieved steady growth of 22%. Despite the first shipment decline, Counterpoint predicts that the smartwatch market may rebound under the drive of product diversification and AI-based innovations. Children's smartwatches are already very popular in China, and it is expected that through market diversification, continuous demand will be ensured, and the improvement in user experience after adding AI functions will also help increase demand for smartwatches. Counterpoint Vice President David Naranjo predicted, "With the diversification of major brand product portfolios, more AI features and advanced sensor integration will bring better user experiences to the entire smartwatch, and the smartwatch will gradually recover, showing single-digit growth this year rather than a sharp rebound." Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1828474817904650/ Disclaimer: This article only represents the views of the author.