Apple Watch has maintained its leadership in terms of global smartwatch shipments in the second quarter of 2021 ending in June and its active user base has now surpassed the 100 million mark, according to a report by market research firm Counterpoint. The overall market of smartwatches is also reported to have grown 27 percent year-on-year in the quarter, thanks to a strong demand for sub-$100 (roughly under Rs. 7,400) models. Although Apple maintained the numero uno position, Samsung and Garmin posted remarkable year-on-year growth in their quarterly smartwatch shipments.

Counterpoint said that Apple maintained its lead in terms of shipments, but its market share declined to 28 percent in the second quarter from 30.1 percent reported in the same quarter last year. One of the key reasons said to be behind the decline was the “intensifying competition” created by Chinese and Indian brands in the last few months.

Despite the slight dip in market share, the Apple Watch has managed to grow its user base to over 100 million for the first time. The Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE were also reportedly the top-selling smartwatches globally in the second quarter, followed by the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2, Apple Watch Series 3, and the Imoo Z6-4G.

US continues to be a key market for the Apple offering, contributing to more than half of its user base. The attach rate, which essentially represents the number of units of a secondary product sold as a direct or implied result of the sale of a primary product, of the Apple Watch was also close to 30 percent, according to Counterpoint Senior Analyst Sujeong Lim.

The analyst also noted that while the Apple Watch maintained its leadership, the sub-$100 smartwatch segment grew a massive 547 percent annually.

Among the top five smartwatch brands globally, Samsung and Garmin showed a significant shipment growth of 43 percent and 62 percent year-on-year, respectively.

Samsung recovered from its sluggish performance reported last year, thanks to the Galaxy Watch 3 and Galaxy Watch Active 2 that both received steady popularity as per Counterpoint. The South Korean giant managed to grow its market share to 7.6 percent in the second quarter from 6.8 percent.

Garmin, on the other hand, is also noted to have recorded its highest shipments ever in a quarter in Q2, with a market share of 5.8 percent. The American fitness tracking-focussed wearables manufacturer managed to take on Chinese smartwatch brand Amazfit that had a 5.6 percent market share in the second quarter last year.

However, Huawei continued to be in the second position in the top five global smartwatch brands chart. The Chinese company did see a decline to 9.3 percent in the the quarter from 13.1 percent last year. Counterpoint believes that the decline in Huawei’s smartphone business has affected its smartwatch sales globally.

Smartwatch market globally had Apple, Huawei, Imoo, and Garmin as the four top players in Q2
Photo Credit: Counterpoint

In terms of volumes, North America continued to be the largest market for smartwatches in the second quarter of 2021. It was followed by China that also retained its growth in terms of volume, even though the growth rate declined. The recovery of consumer spending in the Chinese market after almost recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic has also been slower than in other regions, Counterpoint reports.

India, on the other front, has emerged as the fastest growing smartwatch market. Counterpoint Senior Analyst Anshika Jain pointed out that the country was accounting for less than two percent of the total market in the second quarter of last year, but its share grew to six percent in just one year.

“The proliferation of sub-$100 affordable, feature-rich smartwatches from Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Realme and Oppo, and Indian brands such as Boat and Noise has been one of the key growth drivers,” she added.