India is the only country in the top 20 to see triple-digit growth in wearables in 2020. And India remains the world's third-largest wearables market. The Indian apparel market experienced strong growth of 144,3% YoY in 2020 and recorded 36,4 million unit shipments in the year 2020. These figures have been published in the Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker of International Data Corporation (IDC). ). The numbers show that there is a growing acceptance of noise-canceling devices and wristband-based watch upgrades.
Wristbands are on the decline, but smartwatches are making a comeback
IDC said shipments of hearing protection devices more than tripled in 2020 compared to the previous year. True Wireless Stereo (TWS) devices were the top gainers, increasing tenfold with shipments totaling 11,3 million units in 2020. The fourth quarter of 2020 (October-December) saw the largest quarter for wearable devices in India, maintaining triple-digit growth. Overall, suppliers shipped 15,2 million units in 4Q20, a year-over-year increase of 198,2%. Watch shipments alone passed the million mark, with 1,3 million units shipped in the quarter.
(Image credit: IDC) Noise's colorfit pro-2, Realme Watch, Apple Watch Series 6, and new Amazfit launches led to strong watch growth in 4Q20. Wristbands were down 34,3% year-on-year in 2020 from their peak in 2019, as the year ended with shipments of 3,3 million units. The growing popularity of watches is the main factor behind the decline of bracelets. With a 46,7% share, Xiaomi continued to dominate the bracelet category in 2020. Realme, which entered the segment in 2020, finished in second place with a 12,3% category share.
Apple leads the smartwatch segment
Watches have grown dramatically as demand for bracelets has declined during the year. Watches grew 139,3% year-on-year with shipments of 2,6 million units in 2020. Noise dominated the watch category with a 24,5% share in 2020, followed by Realme with a 15,7% share. in the year. Smartwatches, which can run third-party apps on the device itself, accounted for a 24,5% share of the watch category, and Apple continues to lead the smartwatch category with a 51,0% share in 2020, said the IDC. The Earwear category accounted for 83,6% of the overall apparel market share to reach 30,4 million units in 2020. BoAt became the largest player in the category, accounting for a third of category shipments . Samsung with its portfolio comprising JBL, Harman Kardon, Infinity finished in second place with a 14,5% share in 2020. BoAt also led the TWS segment with a 24,6% share, followed by Realme with a 13,5% share. .2020% in XNUMX.