The news from the Indian smartwatch market is exciting on two counts. One, the market has shown impressive year-on-year growth. Two, there is a new market leader.
According to the latest research from Counterpoint’s IoT Service, India’s smartwatch market grew 312% YoY in Q2 2022 - this is nearly 4 times growth from the previous number. Further, home-grown player Fire-Boltt has become the table-topper for the first time, as it got past the leader Noise.
Fire-Boltt led the market for the first time with a 28% per cent share, while Noise was second with a 26% share. Fire Boltt and Noise captured more than half of the total smartwatch market. Boat, along with its sub-brands, maintained the third place with a 19% per cent share.
The impressive growth in the overall market numbers is being attributed to growing consumer interest in smartwatches as an accessory and as a fitness tracker. Senior Research Analyst Anshika Jain said, "the market is very dynamic and the top three positions will be fluid in the coming quarters."
Over 300 models sold - the highest ever
The counterpoint report saw a steady increase in sales through offline channels. One-third of the smartwatches are sold offline, the highest ever share. In the online domain, Amazon led the market followed by Flipkart, and with Noise, Boat and Fire-Boltt being the best-selling brands. The report said over 300 smartwatch models were sold this quarter, the highest ever.
"The top three brands combined offered 75 different models. The quarter saw over 50 new launches from major brands. Low-end smartwatches continue to attract more competition as half of the total models are in the sub Rs 3500 retail price band," Research Analyst Harshit Rastogi said.
Fire-Boltt had the most product launches in Q2 2022. Noise, which registered 293% YoY growth, has ramped-up its domestic production this quarter and contributed 3/4th of the locally manufactured smartwatches. It introduced more models with Bluetooth calling features and this feature was present in 40% of its shipments for the quarter. Boat's Storm and Xtend models remained the most popular.
Samsung grew 295% YoY in Q2 2022. The Galaxy Watch 4 continued to be its top-selling model thanks to frequent promotional offers. Dizo remained flat QoQ taking the fifth spot. Titan along with its sub-brand Fastrack was 6th with 2% market share. Realme grew 76% YoY this quarter and took the 7th It also launched its first smartwatch with Bluetooth calling, the Watch R100. The brand maintained its presence almost equally across channels.
Apple registered 197% growth in Q2 2022. The Watch Series 7 continued to be its best seller and has reached to almost 250k shipments till the end of the quarter in India. OnePlus maintained its first position in the Rs 10,000- Rs 15,000 retail price band due to the popularity of the OnePlus Watch.
