- IDC Corporate
- Market Trends
- Current: Wearable Devices Market Insights
Wearable Devices Market Insights
Updated: 2 April 2024
Global Shipments of Wearable Devices Saw Modest Growth in 2023 with Improved Demand Expected in 2024 and Beyond
The wearable devices market declined 0.8% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2023 (4Q23). Despite improved economic conditions, mature markets such as United States, Western Europe, and Japan recorded declines in 4Q23 due to muted demand, tough comparisons against last year, and inventory hangover from prior quarters. However, shipments grew 8.1% in Asia/Pacific and in China largely due to strong interest in emerging markets.
"The high-water mark for wearables came in 2020 and 2021 with volumes reaching record levels. The next two years saw the aftermath of that success as demand began to wane and shipments steadily declined," said
Ramon T. Llamas, research director with IDC's Wearables team.
"2024 will be the start of the rebound as users will look for replacements and new models from key vendors launch during the second half of this year. This will carry into 2025 and beyond."
While the market declined slightly in 4Q23, global shipments of wearable devices managed to grow 1.7% for the full year 2023. Among the various device types, hearables declined 0.8% year over year for the full year while capturing 61.3% of the overall wearables market. The slow pace of innovation and fast pace of adoption has quickly led to the category relying more on replacements rather than new buyers. Meanwhile, smartwatches continued their growth trajectory as shipments increased 8.3% during the year as India and China led the market both in terms of vendors and consumption. Rings, such as those from Oura and Ultrahuman, showed promise with the category growing 34.9% during the year while glasses without a display grew 128.2% due to the launch of new products from Amazon and Meta.
"Rings have caught the attention of consumers as new brands begin to gear up their launch plans," said
Jitesh Ubrani, research manager,
Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers at IDC.
. "By providing a discreet form factor and multi-day battery life, rings avoid some of the key shortcomings of smartwatches and hence appeal to a broader audience. However, the form factor has long relied on a subscription-based business model, which is expected to subside in the short term as competition heats up."
With the global economy on a path to recovery, wearables are poised for additional growth in 2024 as device shipments are forecast reach 559.7 million units, up 10.5% over 2023. From there, IDC expects the market will grow to 645.7 million units by the end of 2028 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.6%.
Worldwide Wearables Forecast by Product
Year | 2024 Shipments |
2025 Shipments |
2026 Shipments |
2027 Shipments |
2028 Shipments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Clothing | 343,799 | 350,973 | 358,458 | 365,919 | 374,282 |
Glasses | 1,652,946 | 1,750,736 | 1,893,182 | 2,037,144 | 2,174,111 |
Modular | 14,429 | 8,584 | 8,643 | 9,746 | 11,449 |
Earwear | 347,280,482 | 367,849,545 | 382,399,543 | 393,785,545 | 402,251,761 |
Smartwatch | 176,695,063 | 187,477,675 | 196,658,157 | 203,692,779 | 208,625,517 |
Wrist Band | 31,799,792 | 30,673,898 | 29,785,934 | 29,104,579 | 28,672,412 |
Rings | 1,597,343 | 2,313,748 | 2,723,877 | 3,005,098 | 3,229,944 |
Others | 274,597 | 292,272 | 306,890 | 317,908 | 327,984 |
Top 5 Wearable Device Companies
Quarter | % Growth in 2022Q4 |
% Growth in 2023Q1 |
% Growth in 2023Q2 |
% Growth in 2023Q3 |
% Growth in 2023Q4 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apple | 33.1% | 24.5% | 21.1% | 20.6% | 25.3% |
Imagine Marketing | 4.3% | 6.2% | 7.4% | 9.8% | 3.9% |
Samsung | 7.9% | 9.0% | 7.4% | 7.4% | 8.4% |
Huawei | 5.9% | 5.9% | 7.2% | 5.9% | 7.4% |
Xiaomi | 5.5% | 7.9% | 7.7% | 8.0% | 8.4% |
Others | 43.4% | 46.4% | 49.2% | 48.4% | 46.7% |
Interested in Other Devices?
Related News
-
Mar-24
-
Dec-23
-
Wearables Bounce Back with 8.5% Growth in Q2 2023 and a Positive Forecast, According to IDC
Sep-23
Wearable Devices
Analysts
-
Jitesh Ubrani
Research Manager, Worldwide Device Trackers
-
Ramon Llamas
Research Director, Mobile Devices and AR/VR
-
Ryan Reith
Group Vice President, Worldwide Device Trackers