India’s wristables market hits ₹3,800 crore in value in CY 2020: techARC report

Xiaomi and Realme grabbed the number one and two positions, respectively, in terms of value and volume market measurement in the fitness bands category.

Brands are increasingly expanding their Smart Watch portfolio, contributing 44.1% of the total Wristables shipment for the calendar year. (Shweta Ganjoo)

techARC on Thursday said that India's wristables market had gone past ₹3,800 crore in the calendar year 2020. According to the latest edition of the techARC India Connected Consumer Market Scan Dashboard, about 5.4 million wristables were shipped in the year. Wristables refers to fitness bands and smartwatches.

The dashboard reveals Xiaomi and Realme made it to the top five in terms of volumes and value in the calendar. By value revenue, Apple and Samsung led the space owing to the higher price points of their wearables, compared to those who focus on the affordable space. Noise, a smart accessories brand that started with bands, managed to capture the third position in terms of volumes in CY 2020, the report noted.

Apple led the space in terms of value  (techARC)

Apple led the space in terms of value  (techARC)

According to the report, Xiaomi and Realme grabbed the number one and two positions, respectively, in terms of value and volume market measurement in the fitness bands category. A notable addition to the top five is boAt, which secured the fifth ranking in volume and value for the calendar year 2020.

The report highlighted that 22% of the smartwatches shipped in India came with e-SIM capabilities. While Apple and Samsung have WatchOS and Tizen, other players are now embracing WearOS by Google. Researchers expect WearOS to become the default third-party OS for Smart Watches. It further said th

An overview of wristables market distribution (techARC)

An overview of wristables market distribution (techARC)

at health tracking has become more important since the pandemic of Covid-19 surfaced. As a consequence, the SPO2 feature to measure oxygen saturation attach rate is increasing in Wristables.

Faisal Kawoosa, Founder & Chief Analyst, techARC said, “Wristables has become a key smart wearable category for users even beyond health and fitness tracking. For instance, it definitely reduces the frequent unlocking of smartphones to check on notifications and messages, where users don't necessarily need to respond and are mostly for information only.”

“This uptick has also encouraged several OEMs like OPPO, Realme and now OnePlus to foray in category. I expect OEMs tilting more towards Smart Watches than fitness bands as it gives them more revenue as well as profit margins,” Faisal concluded.