China’s smartwatch mkt shrinks 28% in Q1 2023

Chinas smartwatch shipments declined 28 per cent (year-on-year) and 16 per cent (on-quarter) in the first quarter -- the lowest level in 12 quarters. The country's smartwatch market did not fully recover in the first full quarter after reopening, according to Counterpoint Research. The top three brands were Huawei, Apple and BBK (imoo). They accounted for nearly 60 per cent of China's smartwatch market.

"Although the Spring Festival can boost consumption generally, the demand for smartwatches was still weak in Q1 2023. This was similar to what we saw in China's smartphone shipments. The market needs more time to recover," said senior analyst Shenghao Bai.

Among the types of smartwatches, the high-level operating system (HLOS) smartwatch's shipments saw the smallest YoY drop even as its share increased to 45 per cent from 39 per cent in Q1 2022. Meanwhile, China's 'kids smartwatch' shipments decreased 31 per cent YoY. The country is the world's biggest kids smartwatch market. Huawei was the biggest winner in China's smartwatch market with a 27 per cent share, owing to its strategy of having multiple portfolios. The Huawei Watch GT 3 was the second best-selling model in Q1 2023. Apple took the second largest share, mainly driven by its Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch SE 2022. OPPO was the only one among the main brands to see its shipments increase both YoY and QoQ.