Global Smartwatch Market
In 2013, around 2.1 million units of smartwatches were sold in the market, which marked the beginning of a new era in the mobile technology space. In 2014, more than 85 companies sold nearly seven million smartwatches across the globe. The global smartwatch market has a potential to reach $40 billion by 2023 and and is valued around $12 billion currently. According to analysts the global smartwatch market will grow steadily during the next four years and post a CAGR of over 20% by 2023. New technologies and innovations, rising income levels, and steady population growth will drive the growth of the consumer electronics industry in the next few years. Some studies identify the high demand for wireless health monitoring as one of the primary growth factors for this market. With the growing need to avoid health risks and the rising demand for remote patient monitoring, there is a constant demand for wireless health monitoring devices. These mobile health monitoring systems are used to track and record various health parameters such as body temperature, blood pressure levels, and the count of blood cells. One of the latest trends includes haptics technology which is a standard feature that is used for alerts and notification purposes.
Extension smartwatches have been contributing the highest revenue to the global market, with over 50% share in 2017. This can be majorly attributed to the introduction of next-generation smartwatches that can be used as an extension to smartphones or related devices. iOS based smartwatches accounted for over 40% of the smartwatch market in 2017, while on the basis of application, smartwatches with personal assistance features had the highest shipment. Android is the most popular of the iOS platforms for Smart Watches; nevertheless, iOS platform would strongly emerge, competing with Android systems during the next several years.
Apple, Samsung Group, Lenovo Group, Garmin, Pebble Technology, and Fitbit are the key vendors in the global smartwatch market. The market is extremely competitive and is primarily dominated by large global players like Apple and Samsung. The competition among the vendors in the global smartwatch market is expected to intensify due to the increasing number of M&A. The other prominent vendors in the market include ASUSTeK Computer, Fossil Group, Huawei Technologies, LG Electronics, Motorola Mobility, Omate, Polar Electro, Razer, Sony, and Xiaomi. Apple will continue to have the greatest market share of any smartwatch provider, currently, Apple accounts for one-third of the overall market for smartwatches. By 2021, that share is expected to decline to one-quarter of the market.
Regionally, North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, And The Middle East & Africa constitute the key market segments. In terms of geographic regions, the Americas will be the major revenue contributor to the smartwatch market by 2023. The Americas account for 65% of the total markets share owing to factors like rapid advances in technology and changing consumer preferences over the usage of electronic devices. Asia Pacific region is expected to propel the global market supplemented by China, which is expected to evolve as a hub for low cost smartwatch manufacturing.
The chart below shows the volume of the global smartwatch industry from 2013 to 2020. In 2013, the global smartwatch industry reached a global market volume of USD 700 million, ten times the size of 2012. In 2014, the industry grew to USD 2.5 billion – 5% the size of the watch industry.
The global smartwatch market has a potential to reach $40 billion by 2023 with CAGR of over 20%. If this continues the global smartwatch market will be above $80 billion in next 10 years.
A brief history
Samsung, Sony, and LG were the first to introduce smartwatches in the global market. Later, Apple took its first step in the smartwatch industry with iWatch and unsurprisingly became the leading producer of disruptive smart watches. Companies have spent millions of dollars in smartwatch technology in recent years. Today, the smartwatch is perhaps the most recognizable piece of the wearables industry, a gadget that has become almost synonymous with wearable technology, and an equally controversial and promising piece with a lot of room for growth. However, the concept of the smartwatch is not new at all. In fact, smartwatch history goes back several decades into the past when computerized technology was still in its early stages. Popular highlights of the global smartwatch market that are noteworthy are, based on type, the Extension Smartwatch sales was the source for approximately 4/5th of the revenue generated by the global Smartwatch market in 2013. Standalone smartwatch was nearly 1/10th of the market in 2013. In 2013, the global smartwatch industry reached a global market volume of USD 700 million, ten times the size of 2012. In 2014, the industry grew to USD 2.5 billion – 5% the size of the watch industry.
Market share in 2013
In 2015 Apple cornered a 55 percent global market share with 11.6 million total smartwatches shipped, followed by Samsung Electronics’ 11.4 percent share on about 2.4 million. Apple watch left many smartwatches behind with its competence in innovation. Moreover, high sales of Apple smartwatches have fueled the overall market growth on the back of brand popularity and presence of other rudimentary devices with incompetent features. During 2016, the Bluetooth segment accounted for the major shares and dominated this market.
Conclusion
According to analysts the global smartwatch market will grow steadily during the next four years and post a CAGR of over 20% by 2023. New technologies and innovations, rising income levels, and steady population growth will drive the growth of the consumer electronics industry in the next few years. Apple Watch was the fourth best-selling gadget of 2017, with approximately 20 million units sold, generating around $7 billion in sales (followed by Samsung and Garmin). The competition among the vendors in the global smartwatch market is expected to intensify due to the increasing number of M&A. Apple will continue to have the greatest market share of any smartwatch provider and the Americas will be the major revenue contributor to the smartwatch market in next 5-10 years.
In 2018, sales of smartwatches are forecast to reach 141 million units