Huawei beats Apple in smartwatch sales in 2022

Huawei continues to innovate in smartwatch technologies and keeps on achieving new heights in this division. As of now, Huawei beats Apple in 2022 smartwatch market sales in China.

According to the data compiled by Counterpoint Research, Huawei tops the list of China’s smartwatch shipments share for 2022. The tech company gained a 27% share, as compared to 23% in 2021. This counts as 9% year-over-year growth among the key brands.

Apple comes second with a 17% market share, which was 15% the year earlier. Apple achieved 4% year over year. Therefore, Huawei and Apple contain around half of the smartwatch market in China.

Counterpoint notes that the biggest standout feature of the year was the high-to-premium segments above $200 share rise. Shipments in the $301-$400 segment grew 31% YoY, while shipments in the over $401 segment grew a whopping 1138% YoY. The $50 or less price segment’s share dropped to 22%, with a 28% YoY decrease in shipments compared to the previous year.

“The demand for high-end and premium segments remained relatively strong in 2022, despite the decline in consumer sentiment and global macro headwinds. This shift to the high-end segment is similar to the shift witnessed in the smartphone market in 2022. High-end smartwatch consumers usually have higher demands for health detection, communication, and system features. Such consumers are also more loyal to the brand. In recent years, Apple and Huawei’s marketing efforts have led high-end consumers to view their smartwatches as professional-grade devices with advanced sports and health monitoring capabilities. These watches are also appreciated for their sleek and stylish designs, making them suitable for everyday wear.” said Senior Analyst Ivan Lam.

Counterpoint acknowledged that Huawei still rocking among Chinese consumers with all of its smartwatches. Especially, Huawei Watch 3 Pro and Watch GT 3 series are alluring customers.

BBK AKA IMOO recorded double-digit growth in 2022, which see the impact of COVID restrictions 2022. Xiaomi also witness around 18% YoY drop last year.

Overall, China’s smartwatch shipments fell 8.8% YoY in 2022, mainly due to the COVID-zero policy’s impact on demand. The year saw the country’s smartwatch market size shrinking to pre-COVID levels, with only Q1 2022 registering a quarterly YoY growth in shipments. The global smartwatch shipments grew 9% YoY during the same period.

(Source)