Samsung Has New Concerns As Its Smartwatch Market Share Dips In Q3

Cheap watches ruin Apple and Samsung's lunch break

The wearables industry has recently been hit with the launch of the best smartwatches. This comes from quarterly shipping data released by market research agencies such as Counterpoint. The company's latest report, covering the third quarter of 2022, highlights huge growth in this segment as well as other wearables that are lighter than full-fledged smartwatches. However, this increase appears to have come at the expense of Samsung, which had unusual numbers over the summer.

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According to a Counterpoint report, shipments to the global market increased by 30% in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year. In particular, the Indian smartwatch market grew by 171% year-on-year, making it the largest market in the world. On the other hand, according to the Counterpoint Global Smartwatch Model Tracker, other major emerging markets also grew in the third quarter, although neither China nor Europe.

Adding further context to the data, analyst Woojin Son said this surge in shipments is driven by mainstream or affordable smartwatches, with mainstream smartwatches accounting for 35% of the pie. Shipments of more expensive smartwatches, classified by Counterpoint as high-end operating systems, were up 23% year-over-year. Regardless of the revenue from budget smartwatches, the high average selling price of high-end smartwatches generated more revenue than their cheaper counterparts.

Unsurprisingly, Apple's global smartwatch shipments jumped 48%, helped by the recent release of the Apple Watch Series 8.

Samsung's shipments increased, albeit by a less impressive 6%. Sales figures for the new Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 4 series played a significant role in the sequential growth, with shipments increasing by 62% in the second quarter.

However, Samsung's share of the Indian smartwatch market has fallen below 3%.

Indian brand Noise is the leading supplier of smartwatches in the country and ranks third in the world. The next few quarters could be tough for Samsung as the hype continues to fill the void with cheaper devices.

Samsung currently ranks second in the HLOS market with a 22.3% share, while Apple ranks first with a 50.6% share. However, both retreated from previous highs.

Another interesting tidbit from Counterpoint's report comes from Garmin's data: The fitness-focused smartwatch maker's shipments were modest compared to the third quarter of 2021, but the highest average selling price was $365, beating even Apple's average, leading to increase in sales by 11%. .