Indian wearables market declines for the first time ever in Q2 2024: IDC | Tech Tips

India’s wearable device market declined for the first time ever, according to the IDC monthly wearable device tracker report. The segment dropped by 10 percent YoY to 29.5 million units. Boat remained at the top spot in the wearable segment with a market share of 26.7 percent in Q2 2024 compared to 26.6 percent in Q2 2023.

Wearable device market declines in India

• Noise settled in second place with a market share of 13 percent in Q2 2024 compared to 13.5 percent in Q2 2023.
• Boult, Fire-Boltt, and OPPO (including OnePlus) are in third, fourth and fifth places with 8.1, 8.0, and 7.9 percent market shares, respectively.

• The IDC report notes that in the first half of 2024, the wearable market declined by 4.7 percent with just 55.1 million shipments.
• IDC believes that “cautious” inventory stocking by the vendors with a focus on clearing old stock before the festive season and fewer launches could be the key reasons for the decline.

In Q2 2024, the smartwatch category declined by 27.4 YoY, with 9.3 million unit shipments. The share of the smartwatch segment within wearables dropped from 39 percent to 31.5 percent In Q2 2023. Noise leads the segment with a 25.7 percent market share. Fire-Boltt secured second place with a share of 24.2 market share. Boat, Titan, and Boult are placed in third, fourth and fifth places.

The earwear category remained flat, with a growth of 0.7 percent YoY with 20.1 million units. Within this segment, the TWS share reached a record 71 percent from 65.5 percent a year ago. This is a growth of 9.1 percent YoY. Boat again takes the lead with a market share of 34 percent in Q2 2024. The other earwear shipments declined by 16.1 percent with 5.8 million units.

Open Wireless Solution/Open Ear solution emerged as the new earwear subcategory. Brands like pTron, Truke, and Noise are the current vendors of this niche segment and have launched models in the affordable price segment.

The smart ring segment continues to be on the rise with more than 72,000 units shipped in Q2 2024. Ultrahuman led with a 48.4 percent share, followed by Pi Ring with a 27.5 percent share and Aabo at third with a 10.5 percent share. More models are expected to launch around the festive season.

The online channel share of the wearable market increased to 63.4 percent from 62.0 percent in Q1 2024, growing by 17.6 percent QoQ, while offline channel shipments witnessed an 11.1 percent growth QoQ. The offline channel remains underutilised, as per IDC. These are often used to clear excess inventory.