No Diwali ‘lights’ for India’s wearables market, but there is a silver lining

India’s wearable device market recorded a sharp decline during the crucial festive quarter, with shipments falling 20.7% YoY to 38 million units in Q3 2024, as per IDC’s latest market tracker. The downturn, marking the second consecutive quarterly decline, came despite aggressive festive season discounts and traditionally strong consumer spending during this period.

Noise maintains it’s lead in the declining smartwatch market

The smartwatch segment, which has been the market’s growth engine, witnessed the steepest decline of 44.8% YoY, with shipments dropping to 9.3 million units. Despite the overall slump, the average selling price (ASP) of wearables increased for the first time since Q2 2019, rising 1.3% to $21.3, signalling a shift toward premium devices.
In the smartwatch category, Noise (Nexxbase) maintained its market leadership, while Boat (Imagine Marketing) focused on inventory clearance during festive sales. Among the top five brands, only Boult and realme bucked the downward trend, registering growth rates of 32.5% and 56.5% respectively.
“Over the past 20 quarters, Noise has consistently led India’s smartwatch market, achieving sustainable growth through relentless innovation and a steadfast focus on our consumer-first strategy—all while being a bootstrapped brand,” said Amit Khatri, Co-Founder of Noise. “Amid market trends like consolidation, premiumization, and evolving consumer expectations, we have not only weathered these changes but thrived, with a 10-15% year-on-year increase in average selling prices across marketplaces.”

TWS records highest-ever share in earwear category

The earwear segment showed more resilience, though still declining 7.5% YoY to 28.5 million units. Truly Wireless Stereo (TWS) products reached a record 73.2% share within the category, up from 68.2% a year ago. In the TWS category, Boult and realme stood out among the top five brands with growth rates of 55.0% and 94.6% respectively. Notably, smartphone brand Nothing achieved growth of 308.2% YoY in the overall wearable market.

Ultrahuman leads the smart ring category

The emerging smart ring category showed promise, shipping over 92,000 units in Q3 2024, with prices dropping 16.2% YoY to $162.1. Ultrahuman led this segment with 36.8% market share, followed by boAt at 20.5% and Pi Ring at 16.3%.
Channel dynamics showed interesting shifts, with offline channels growing 9.4% YoY in the earwear category, increasing their share to 34.4%. Online channels maintained dominance in smartwatches with a 63.8% share, though overall online shipments declined 14.4% YoY.
Looking ahead to 2025, IDC analysts predict continued pressure on the smartwatch market, with expectations of flat or declining growth. However, early signs indicate a gradual consumer shift from basic to advanced smartwatches, driven by increasing demand for sophisticated health tracking features and advanced functionality.

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