India’s smart wearable device market experienced a significant decline of 20.7% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2024, according to the latest IDC India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker report.
The market saw total shipments drop to 38 million units in 3Q24 from 47.9 million units in the same period last year. Among product categories, wrist bands witnessed the steepest decline of 48.4%, followed by smartwatches at 44.8%, while earwear showed a relatively smaller decrease of 7.5%.
Despite the overall market contraction, boAt (Imagine Marketing) maintained its market leadership with a 32.1% share in the overall wearables category, though experiencing a 14.5% decline in growth. Noise (Nexxbase) secured the second position with an 11% market share, while Boult showed strong growth, increasing its share to 9.7%.
In the True Wireless Stereo (TWS) segment, which showed more resilience with only a 0.7% decline, boAt led with 36.8% market share. Notable performances came from Boult and realme, which grew by 55% and 94.6% respectively, while OPPO (including OnePlus) saw a significant decline of 37.8%.
The smartwatch category witnessed substantial shifts, with Noise leading at 27.4% market share, followed by boAt at 16.8%. Titan emerged as a strong performer with 12.6% share and 37.5% growth, while Fire-Boltt experienced the most dramatic decline of 84.1%, dropping to 6.8% market share from 23.6% in the previous year.
Only the ‘Others’ category, which includes smart rings and smart glasses, showed positive growth of 46%, though from a smaller base of 65,000 units to 94,900 units.
The data indicates a significant market correction in India’s wearable technology sector, with established leaders maintaining their positions despite overall market contraction, while some newer entrants show strong growth potential in specific segments.
