IDC posted its quarterly analysis of the wearable market in India, revealing a massive 29.2% growth YoY. The top company was boAt, dominating the market with a 29.7% share, nearly three times more than the second-placed Noise.
During the July-September period, the country saw 48.1 million shipments, bringing the total for the first nine months up to 105.9 million units – a 5.8% increase compared with the first three quarters of 2022.
Overall average selling price (ASP) declined from $27.2 to $21.7, fueled by the arrival of a new type of product – smart rings. Smartwatches as a category grew 41%, while wristbands declined 23.4%, but the borders between those two are becoming increasingly blurred. However, the top category was audio wearables, with 30.9 million shipments (out of the total 48.1M).
The leader boAt kept its leadership mainly because its TWS products – it saw a 33.3% growth YoY. The main reason the company is still dominant is it kept bringing new audio-related features in partnership with Qualcomm, Dolby, and Dirac, and also expanded its India-based manufacturing partner panel.
Wearables market in India by category
There was only one brand in Top 5 that also sells smartphones in India – Oppo (which also includes the OnePlus products). The duo was third in TWS and second in neckbands, mostly thanks to the Buds 2R, Enco Buds 2 and Nord Buds 2 products. We also saw the cheaper Nord Buds 2R.
