India’s wearable device market declined for the first time in 2024 by 11.3% YoY: IDC

India’s wearable device market declined for the first time in 2024 by 11.3% falling to 119.0 million units, after globally peaking it to 134.2 million shipments in 2023, reported International Data Corporation’s (IDC) India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker on Friday.

Anand Priya Singh, market analyst, Smart Wearable Devices, IDC India said, “India’s wearable market peaked in 2023 (biggest globally), with 134.2 million shipments. It was a global driver for low-cost smartwatches led by a plethora of affordable options, low product penetration, and the high share of non-branded (white label) products.

 However, it was plagued by undifferentiated products, fewer launches and consolidation of long tail of brands in 2024.’‘

The market also shrunk for the third consecutive quarter, down 8.7% to 25.9 million units in the fourth quarter of calendar 2024. The average selling price (ASP) for overall wearables declined by 7.1% to $19.8 in 2024.

According to IDC tracker, smartwatch shipments declined by 34.4% YoY to 35.0 million units. The Smartwatch share within wearables dropped to 29.4% from 39.8% in 2023. The lack of meaningful innovations and technological advancements led to muted consumer demand. Smartwatch ASPs declined by 9.1% from $25.8 to $23.5. Advanced smartwatches also declined by 13.1% YoY, though the share increased from 2.1% to 2.8%.

The earwear category registered a modest 3.8% YoY growth to 83.5 million units. Within earwear, the share of the Truly Wireless Stereo (TWS) segment reached a record 70.9% from 67.2% a year ago, growing by 9.4% YoY, whereas neckband shipments declined by 17.1%. However, shipments for the over-the-ear segment increased by 83.6% to 4.5 million units. Annual ASPs for earwear stood at $17.6, declining by 3.0%.

In the overall wearable category, boat (Imagine Marketing) continued to lead as share increased from 26.0% to 27.6%, followed by Noise (Nexxbase) with a 12.2% share in 2024. Boult was the only company among the Top Five to register a growth of 10.8%. In the TWS category, three companies, namely boat, Boult and Nexxbase, registered double-digit growth annually.

Shipments to the offline channel grew by 7.2% with its share reaching 37.8% from 31.3% a year ago. Online channel shipments declined by 19.7% YoY after a few years of double-digit growth. The growth was hindered primarily by the smartwatch category, with online shipments of smartwatches declining by 43.0%.

However, IDC said, the smart ring category continued to grow, with 323 thousand shipments in 2024, up from 113 thousand in 2023. ASPs for rings grew by 1.9% to $174.7. Ultrahuman led with a 40.1% share, Pi Ring was second with a 20.4% share, and Aabo landed in third position with a 16.8% share in 2024.

On India wearables market forecast for 2025, Vikas Sharma, senior market analyst, Smart Wearable Devices, IDC India said, in 2025, the India wearables market was expected to remain flat as the decline of the smartwatch category would offset the earwear segment’s single-digit growth.

“Also, emerging categories like smart rings and smart glasses are expected to see high double-digit growth. In the upcoming quarters, innovations will likely revolve around the convergence of advanced sensing technologies and artificial intelligence applications,’‘ Mr. Sharma added.