India smartwatch market grows 173% YoY in Q1 2022; Noise leads, Fire-Boltt takes second spot

India’s smartwatch market grew 173 percent YoY in Q1 2022 (January-March), according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s IoT Service.

This is attributed to growing consumer interest, multiple launches during the quarter and the availability of various discount offers and promotions.

• Noise shipments doubled YoY in Q1 2022 due to the good performance of its newly introduced devices. The Colorfit Pulse became the best-selling model for the brand.

• Fire-Boltt took the second position for the first time with a 21% share. It had multiple launches this quarter with the Ninja Pro Max being its most popular device. Further, 57% of its watches come with the Bluetooth calling function.

• boAt registered 106% YoY growth and captured the third position. The Xtend and Storm models captured almost two-thirds of its total portfolio. boAt launched the Wave Pro 47, its first made-in-India smartwatch, in this quarter.

• Dizo captured a spot in the top five for the first time. The company introduced OLED display with its recently launched model Watch R. The brand also expanded its offline presence this quarter.

• Samsung grew 78% YoY in Q1 2022. The Galaxy Watch 4 series had the highest contribution here and higher shipments this quarter owing to promotional offers along with the Galaxy S22 Ultra smartphone.

• realme had 3% share in Q1 2022. The brand introduced its new Smartwatch S100, which was its major volume driver. We expect to see a portfolio refresh soon and a rise in shipments in the coming future. It is a well-established brand in both offline and online channels.

• Apple grew 104% YoY in Q1 2022 with its series 7 variants contributing two-thirds of the shipments. It continued to lead the premium segment (>INR 30,000, >$400) with over 87% share.

• Amazfit declined 35% YoY in Q1 2022. The GTS 2 Mini contributed over 30% of its shipments. With the newer GTS Mini 2, we expect it to gain back some of its market share in the coming quarter.

• Zebronics managed to maintain a position in the top ten. The company launched several affordable models on various online and offline platforms.

• OnePlus took the first spot in the INR 10,000-INR 15,000 ($133-$200) retail price band with around 45% share.

• Xiaomi registered a strong growth of 238% QoQ in Q1 2022. Its newly introduced model Redmi Watch 2 Lite is performing well in the marke

Commenting on the market trends, Senior Research Analyst Anshika Jain said, “The contribution of the <Rs 5,000 ($67) price band increased to 87 percent from 78 percent in Q1 2021. The Rs 1,000-Rs 2,000 ($13-$27) retail price band reached its highest-ever share of 14 percent from just 2 percent a year ago. Many brands have started to focus on this low price tier to attract first-time users and acquire the smart band user base. Consumer awareness has also increased in this segment due to brands’ continuous efforts on marketing and promotions through online and offline channels.”

On brands, Jain said, “The top three brands captured 60 percent share in Q1 2022. Noise led the overall smartwatch market driven by its value-for-money offerings, the addition of relevant features to its product portfolio and emphasis on the Make-in-India scheme. Fire-Boltt emerged as the second-largest player for the first time due to its focus on affordability and the introduction of feature-packed products. Fire-Boltt has a good offline presence and targets multiple smartwatch segments like fashion, lifestyle, fitness and luxury. boAt captured the third spot. It also refreshed its portfolio in Q1 2022 with five new models.”

Commenting on product features, Research Analyst Harshit Rastogi said, “The brands are pushing larger displays, which consumers are readily accepting. By pushing larger displays, the brands are also attracting smart band users as these bands have limited functionality due to smaller displays. The contribution of the >1.5-inch smartwatches increased to more than half of the total smartwatch market from just 11% last year. In addition, some of the most demanded features like SpO2 are now present at all price levels. Blood pressure monitoring as well as voice assistant are trickling down to lower price bands to attract budget-conscious customers.”

On domestic manufacturing, Rastogi said, “Multiple brands have already started domestic manufacturing. We could see a major jump in the contribution of domestically manufactured devices in the second half of 2022, especially from brands like Noise, boAt and realme.”

Published on: Friday, May 06, 2022, 12:33 PM IST