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India’s wearable market shrinks in 2024, smartwatch sales down 34.4%: IDC

Entrackr · 8d

India’s wearable device market saw its first annual decline, with total shipments dropping 11.3% year-on-year to 119.0 million units, according to IDC’s India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker. The market shrank for the third straight quarter, with Q4 shipments falling 8.7% to 25.9 million units, marking the end of years of steady growth. The main reason for the decline was a 34.4% drop in smartwatch sales, falling to 35.0 million units. Smartwatches made up 39.8% of wearables in 2023, but their share dropped to 29.4% in 2024. Despite the smartwatch decline, earwear grew by 3.8% YoY to 83.5 million units. TWS remained dominant, increasing its market share to 70.9% (up from 67.2%), with 9.4% growth. Meanwhile, neckband shipments dropped 17.1%, as more consumers preferred TWS. Over-the-ear headphones saw a surge of 83.6% YoY to 4.5 million units, driven by demand for premium audio. However, earwear ASPs fell 3.0% to $17.6. Noise dominates the smartwatch segment, while boAt leads in TWS. In the overall category, boAt remained the market leader, increasing its share from 26.0% to 27.6%. Noise held 12.2%, while Boult was the only top-five brand to grow, rising 10.8% YoY. In the TWS segment, boAt, Boult, and Noise saw double-digit growth, strengthening their dominance. Smart rings saw strong growth, with shipments tripling from 113,000 in 2023 to 323,000 in 2024 and the average selling price rose 1.9% to $174.7. Ultrahuman led with 40.1% market share, followed by Pi Ring (20.4%) and Aabo (16.8%). For 2025, IDC forecasts that the wearable market is expected to remain flat, as smartwatch declines balance earwear’s slow growth. However, smart rings and smart glasses should see strong growth. Future innovations will focus on AI-driven health tracking, advanced sensors, and medical-grade features like blood pressure monitoring. To stay relevant, brands must move beyond basic fitness tracking.