Huawei overtakes Apple in global wearables, Samsung stays competitive

Huawei surpassed Apple to have the crown of the worldwide wearables market in 2024. During the period, Samsung remained competitive, but Huawei’s rise was not just a shock for Apple but also for the worldwide market.

IDC reports Huawei led the global wearable market this year so far. The Chinese company shipped 23.6 million units, scoring a 44.3% boost from the same period last year. In the first three quarters, 112.2 million smartwatches shipped globally.

Notably, the shipments of wrist-worn devices — including fitness bands and smartwatches — totaled 139.0 million units worldwide compared to last year’s 140.5 million.

It suggests that the segment sales were not on fire, but Huawei’s aggressive marketing in China paid off the vendor making it a global leader in terms of shipments.

Huawei launched the new Watch GT 5, GT 5 Pro, and Watch D2 smartwatches this year. The company’s brand offering and extensive offerings seem to have paid off handsomely.

Notably, Apple was the biggest seller in the third quarter given its Watch Series 10. However, the US tech giant lagged behind in overall numbers which was in Huawei’s favor.

Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch 7 and Watch Ultra were released in July only. Therefore, the sales impact can only be seen during the July-September period.

The Galaxy maker sold 11.5 million wearable devices this year so far. The company secured a decent market share of 8.3%, achieving a 24.3% year-over-year growth.

“China’s wrist-worn device market shipped 45.8 million units, a Year-over-year increase of 20.1%. As the largest market for wrist-worn device shipments, China led the global growth.” – IDC report notes.