India Wearables Market Shipped 38 Million Units in 1H22, a Growth of 66% YoY
According to, International Data Corporation’s (IDC) India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker, 23.9 million wearable devices were shipped in 2Q22 (April-June), growing by 113% year-over-year (YoY). 38 million units were shipped in 1H22 (Jan-Jun) growing at 65.8% YoY, supported by new launches, discounts, and marketing. Affordability remains a key growth lever. The overall, average selling price (ASP) declined by 7.2% YoY in 2Q22.
Watch-based wearables continue to be the fastest-growing category shipping 6.4 million units; a growth of 298.4% YoY. With a strong push for entry-level price points, the ASP declined by 28.9% YoY to reach $45.1 (vs $63.4 a year back). Basic watches continue to dominate with 95.2% share growing by 306.4% annually in 2Q22. Wrist bands declined by 63.0% YoY as weaker demand continues to restrict its growth.
Hearables accounted for 72.6% of the overall wearables category. Truly wireless (TWS) now account for half of the earwear shipments growing by 187.4% YoY.
“Brands continue to compete on lowering the price points which ensured a healthy growth in 1H22. In addition to the affordability, the features earlier available at mid/high price points such as Bluetooth calling, bigger screen sizes, and AMOLED displays are getting introduced at lower price points. This is attracting both first-time users and upgraders,” says Upasana Joshi, Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India.
2Q22 Top 5 Wearable Company Highlights
Imagine Marketing (BoAt) led with a 34.3% market share in 2Q22 growing 76.6% YoY. It focused on the expansion of earwear devices (leading with 42.8% share in TWS) and widening its portfolio of watch-based wearables (19.7% share at third place) aiding the company’s growth in the quarter.
Nexxbase (Noise) stood in second place with an 11.5% market share. It regained its leadership in the watch-based wearables category with a 28.5% share in 2Q22 growing 296.6% annually and stood second in the TWS with an 8.0% category share.
OnePlus finished third in the overall wearable category growing by 129.7% YoY. It remains heavily focused on the earwear category standing second in the overall earwear category with an 11.9% share and finishing fifth in the TWS category.
Fire – Boltt grew 1,432.5% YoY to finish fourth in the overall wearable in 2Q22. It is, however, standing strong at second place in the watch-based wearables with a 24.8% share. Aggressive push in the watch category with several new models and strong promotions across the online and offline channels is helping it gain popularity in the wearable category. The company also forayed into the TWS category this quarter.
Realme grew by 87.9% YoY in 2Q22 with major volumes coming from Buds Wireless 2 Neo and Tech life buds N100 accounting for 42.9% of the overall shipments.
“Demand for wearables has moved beyond urban centers by appealing to the aspirational consumers in smaller cities and towns. This has been driven by marketing and pricing efforts by key brands and supported by aggressive e-tailer sales events since the overall category remains online heavy. IDC forecasts record shipments of more than 90 million in 2022,” says Navkendar Singh, Associate Vice President, Devices Research, IDC India, South Asia & ANZ.
Singh further adds, “The wearable device market is bucking the trend of tapering demand seen in the overall devices space. As consumers look for exciting designs and a better feature set in a device complementing their smartphone, they are willing to experiment and spend on these devices.”
