Huawei Overtakes Apple in Wearable Market
Apple has been dethroned as the leader in the wearable tech market by a major competitor, due to a significant drop in Apple Watch shipments, which fell by over 3 million units.
Apple Watch Series 10: A Disappointment?
As an experienced tech journalist, I eagerly followed this year’s September Apple Event, which kicked off with the unveiling of the Apple Watch. However, the reveal fell short of expectations. The new Apple Watch Series 10, despite being one of the top smartwatches on the market, has been somewhat underwhelming.
The watch features a larger display, improved performance, and a new chip, but it largely seems like a modest update over the Series 9, offering no significant changes. Some of its touted innovative features, such as respiratory disorder detection, are software-based and also available on older models updated to watchOS 11.
Declining Sales?
It appears I’m not alone in feeling that Apple’s smartwatches are losing their allure. According to a recent International Data Corporation (IDC) report, Apple shipped 3.3 million fewer watches than in the same period last year.
However, it’s important to note that these figures cover the first to third quarters, typically January to September, comparing 2024 to 2023. This means the analysis was done before the Series 10 announcement and several months after the Series 9 launch.
Huawei, A Formidable Competitor
The decline in Apple’s wearable market share might not just be about the appeal of the Apple Watch. IDC data indicates that a major shift is due to explosive growth in China, led by Huawei. In 2024, the Chinese market sustained an impressive annual growth rate of 20.1%, fueling global expansion.
Post-2019 ban, Huawei devices are unobtainable in the U.S., leading the company to focus increasingly on its nearby markets like China. Huawei saw a year-over-year growth of 44.3%, shipping 23.6 million units between the first and third quarters of this year. In comparison, Apple shipped 22.5 million units during the same period.
This isn’t solely due to various restrictions and regional market dynamics. Huawei has also been launching trackers and smartwatch models at various price points, featuring truly interesting and useful capabilities.
The Future of the Apple Watch
While Apple remains one of the world’s most popular smartwatch brands, it is starting to be outpaced by companies offering more innovative designs, niche-specific functions, better batteries, and more competitive pricing. This is a point Tim Cook and his team should consider as they prepare for the Apple Watch Series 11.