The wearables market suffered its first-ever decline in the first quarter of 2022, with global shipments down three per cent year-on-year, according to IDC.
A total of 105.3 million units were sold during the quarter, with wristband shipments dropping 40.5 per cent amid supply shortages and weaker demand in the market.
Despite that, smartwatch sales grew 9.1 per cent to offset some of the overall declines, while hearables – the largest category by share – saw a fall of 0.6 per cent.
Apple claimed nearly a third of market share for wearables in Q1, with 32.1 million shipments representing a 6.6 per cent rise year-on-year.
Second-placed Samsung, however, saw its sales drop 9.9 per cent, with the vendor taking a 10.3 per cent market share. The company edged out Xiaomi, which took a 9.3 per cent share, while Huawei (7.3per cent) and Imagine Marketing (three per cent) completed the top five.
Health remains a key factor behind consumers purchasing wearables, said IDC research manager Jitesh Urbani – who also talked of the growth in watch shipments.
“Consumers are increasingly becoming aware of their health and with more pricing options, there seems to be a watch available for everyone,” he said. “Competition is also on the rise as smaller brands ramp up their basic health-and-fitness-tracking watches at the low end, and as Google along with Samsung and other Wear OS partners finally become more competitive with Apple at the high end of the spectrum.”
