Global smartwatch shipments grew 9% YoY in Q3 2023: Apple had its best-ever Q3 with shipments up 7% YoY, Samsung fell 19% YoY, and Huawei grew 56% YoY
Counterpoint Research :
Context & Ripple Effects
The market had expanded 30% year over year in Q3 2022, with India identified as a major driver. Q3 2023’s 9% growth therefore marks a slower, but still positive, expansion phase for smartwatch demand.
Apple had also posted strong growth in earlier market upswings, while Huawei grew during the comparatively flat 2020 market. The new quarter again shows Huawei expanding despite a low-growth global backdrop, but with sharply different outcomes among the leading vendors.
First-order effects
- Global smartwatch growth slowed from the prior Q3, while Apple still recorded its best-ever third quarter and 7% shipment growth.
- Huawei’s 56% shipment increase contrasts with Samsung’s 19% decline, immediately improving Huawei’s relative shipment momentum versus Samsung.
Second-order effects
- Samsung faces pressure to reverse a shipment decline while Apple and Huawei can use their growth to reinforce retailer, distribution, and developer attention around their smartwatch ecosystems.
- The 9% market expansion means vendor gains are not simply a zero-sum reshuffling, but the uneven results make competitive performance more important than the headline market-growth rate.
Third-order effects
- If this divergence persists, the smartwatch market may become more segmented by vendor ecosystem and regional strengths rather than moving in lockstep with overall category demand.
- Repeated growth by Apple and Huawei alongside weaker Samsung results would point to a more concentrated contest among platform-led device makers, though shipment data alone cannot establish durable share changes.
The trend: Smartwatch growth is continuing at a slower pace, with vendor outcomes increasingly diverging despite an expanding overall market.