Worldwide Shipments of Wearable Devices Grew 8.8% Year Over Year in Q1 2024 While Average Selling Prices Continue to Decline, According to IDC

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For more information, contact:

• Jitesh Ubrani  Email: jubrani@idc.com  Phone number: +1 416-873-0315
• Ramon Llamas  Email: rllamas@idc.com  Phone number: +1 508-935-4736
• Michael Shirer  Email: press@idc.com  Phone number: 508-935-4200

NEEDHAM, Mass., June 4, 2024 – The wearables market began 2024 with a growth spurt as global shipments of wearable devices grew 8.8% year over year in the first quarter (1Q24) to 113.1 million units, according to new data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker. Despite the shipment growth, average selling prices (ASPs) declined for the fifth quarter in a row, dropping 11% in 1Q24 as emerging markets gained traction and as the economy put downward pressure on consumer spending.

"The lack of major innovation in the premium segment has allowed tier-2 brands to narrow the gap across the board," said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager, Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers. "Until we get to a point where new sensors or algorithms enable prescriptive insights or the tracking of new datapoints such as blood pressure or glucose, consumers will likely gravitate towards the mid to value price points and this is where brands have continued to invest by diversifying their pricing ladders."

"It's important to pay close attention to smaller, regional vendors," said Ramon T. Llamas, research director with IDC's Wearables team. "The appetite for wearables is not lost on emerging markets, but higher prices on wearables from premium brands make them cost prohibitive for many. That has opened the door for local brands to introduce low-cost yet feature-laden devices to meet this unsatiated demand. That's how companies like Xiaomi and Imagine Marketing have established positions among the top vendors worldwide."

Company Highlights

Apple maintained the top position although it was held back by poor macroeconomic conditions, a temporary ban on certain watch models, and the lack of newer AirPods. Overall, Apple Watch shipments declined 19.1% year over year while hearables including AirPods and Beats declined 18.8% during the quarter.

Xiaomi ranked second with 43.4% year over year growth thanks to an easy comparison over a 16% decline in the first quarter of 2023. The company's value-oriented products resonated with users and the recent re-entry into Wear OS watches has helped the company become the third largest vendor within the Google ecosystem and grow its overall smartwatch average selling prices.

Huawei captured the third spot, surpassing Samsung, thanks to the return of its smartphone business, which had a positive impact on wearables due to bundling. However, the company's sales are heavily concentrated in China with about three quarters coming from the region.

Samsung slipped into fourth place. The launch of the Galaxy Fit 3 as well as success with lower-priced hearables helped the company achieve market beating growth although its core smartwatch volume declined 5.1% during the quarter.

Imagine Marketing (boAt) rounded out the top five. The Indian brand known for its extreme value-oriented products managed to grow its hearables volume by 17.5% but its smartwatches saw a tremendous decline of 61.3% due to extreme competition within the home country.

About IDC Trackers

IDC Tracker products provide accurate and timely market size, vendor share, and forecasts for hundreds of technology markets from more than 100 countries around the globe. Using proprietary tools and research processes, IDC's Trackers are updated on a semiannual, quarterly, and monthly basis. Tracker results are delivered to clients in user-friendly Excel deliverables and on-line query tools.

For more information about IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, please contact Jackie Kliem at 508-988-7984 or jkliem@idc.com.

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About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,300 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology, IT benchmarking and sourcing, and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading tech media, data, and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDC and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the IDC Blog for industry news and insights.

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