On March 13, Canalys released a research report that said the wearables market came under pressure in the fourth quarter of 2022, with shipments falling 18 percent to 50 million units during the traditional peak period of the fourth quarter, the first double-digit decline in the market. The smartwatch category saw a double-digit decline of 17 per cent. The basic wristband category fell for the ninth consecutive time, by 43%. Underlying watches grew just 3 per cent, and growth in India, a potential growth market, slowed markedly.
Cynthia Chen, analyst at Canalys, said: "The wearable wristband market is expected to grow at a modest 2% in 2023. While we expect base bands to continue to decline, base watches and smartwatches will grow, with growth capped at no more than 10%. "Given the recovery in consumer spending, manufacturers should brace themselves and focus on quality rather than quantity." Canalys forecasts 8 per cent growth for smartwatches and 6 per cent growth for basic watches.
The development of wearable wristband devices will further focus on the system development and ecological applications of smartwatches. Based on consumers' more personalized upgrade demands for functional features, smartwatches will have the opportunity to realize connection and tracking functions in more application scenarios.
In the fourth quarter, the major manufacturers are feeling the pressure of the macro economy. Apple (AAPL.US), the market leader in the smartwatch category and wearable wristband devices, returned to its regular launch schedule due to a shift in the release cycle, and then saw a 17% decline compared to the better-performing fourth quarter of 2021. While Google's Fitbit shipments fell 25 per cent, its Pixel Watch smartwatch bucked the market with a 16 per cent rise, pushing Google into second place.
In this headwind environment, both Huawei and Samsung suffered sharp declines. Samsung's streak of growth came to an abrupt halt in the fourth quarter, plunging 35% to fifth place, as dividends from the WearOS migration dwindled and the iteration of the Galaxy Watch5 series was further constrained. Despite a decline in quarterly smartwatch shipments, Apple, Samsung and Huawei all maintained annual growth, contributing to the moderate growth of smartwatches in 2022.
For 2022 as a whole, smartwatches grew 3%, basic watches grew 21%, and basic wristbands fell 39%, leading to a 5% decline in the overall wearable wristband market.
