Huawei Surpassed Apple in Wrist-Worn Device Shipments in First Three Quarters of 2024: IDC

Huawei secured the top spot in the global wrist-worn wearable shipments with significant year-over-year growth, as per the latest report by market research firm IDC. The Chinese tech brand has surpassed Apple to grab the top spot in global wrist-worn wearable shipment for the first three quarters of 2024. Xiaomi came in third, while Samsung and BBK brands made it to fourth and fifth positions, respectively. The launch of the Huawei GT 5 series and Watch D2 are considered to be the major reasons for Huawei's growth. China emerged as the largest market for wrist-worn devices in the same period.

Apple Lagging Behind the Market

IDC revealed in its latest Worldwide Wearables Quarterly Tracker report said that the global wrist-worn device market shipped 139.0 million units in the first three quarters of 2024, a year-on-year decline of 1.0 percent. Despite the decline, Huawei overtook Apple to claim the top spot by shipping 23.6 million units in the first three quarters of this year, with a 44.3 percent year-over-year growth rate. The popularity of the Huawei Watch GT 5, Watch D2, and GT 5 Pro fueled the growth of Huawei. It got a 16.9 percent market share in the period.

Apple secured the second position with 22.5 million shipments and a 16.2 percent market share in the first three quarters of 2024. The report observed that the Cupertino-based company has been challenged by products from more price segments in the wrist-worn business. However, Apple Watch still ranks first in the global smartwatch market.

Xiaomi came in third with 20.5 million shipments. The launch of the new Xiaomi Band 9, the popularity of the Xiaomi Watch S, and good market response significantly increased Xiaomi's overall wrist-worn market shipments. Samsung and BBK are the other brands that made it onto IDC's top five list. The former marked 11.5 million wearable shipments, while the latter shipped 7.8 million wearables.

Samsung secured a decent market share of 8.3 percent, grabbing 24.3 percent year-over-year growth, while BBK had a 5.6 percent market share and 25.9 percent year-on-year growth.

The survey found that China's wrist-worn device market shipped 45.8 million units, a year-on-year increase of 20.1 percent. As the largest market for wrist-worn device shipments, China led the global growth, while shipments in India and the United States saw a decline.