The worldwide market for smartwatches grew robustly last year, with the Apple Watch remaining a favorite among consumers. That’s according to new research released this week by Counterpoint Research. 

The smartwatch market increased by 24 percent in 2021 from the previous year, although the pandemic year of 2020 did not include much growth. The strong 2021 numbers included the shipment of forty million units in the fourth quarter, the most ever in a three-month period. 

Apple led the way with 30.1 percent of the market in 2021, down from 32.9 percent in 2020 but still comfortably in the lead. Samsung was second with 10.2 percent, Huawei third with 7.7 percent, Imoo fourth with 5.2 percent, and Amazfit fifth with 5.1 percent. Garmin, Fitbit, Xiaomi, and Noise rounded out the list. 

While Apple lost a few points of market share due to “intensified competition,” its average sale price rose 3 percent, largely because it did not release a lower-cost SE model in 2021. 

Samsung also had a huge year in the space, jumping from third to second place and growing its market share from 8.9 percent to 10.2 percent. It also sported 200 percent quarter-over-quarter growth in the third quarter of the year, in part due to its move to Wear OS. 

“The global smartwatch market’s good growth in 2021 is meaningful in itself, but it is more meaningful in that it makes us look forward to future growth. With their ability to monitor important health parameters like blood pressure, ECG, and SPO2, these devices are becoming popular,” Counterpoint’s associate director, Sujeong Li, said in the release. “Further, the attractiveness of smartwatches as independent wearable devices will increase if more of them start supporting cellular connectivity.”

The market was also spread out geographically, with 30 percent of the market in North America, 24 percent in China, 10 percent in India, and 37 percent in the rest of the world. Notably, India jumped from 3 percent of the market to 10 percent in a single year.

Noise, an Indian manufacturer, showed notable growth. “Noise is the No.1 Indian smartwatch brand and leads the growth of the local market. It captured the top position in 2021 due to its diverse product portfolio targeting the budget and mid segments, as well as strong partnerships with e-commerce players, financial institutions, and celebrities,” said Anshika Jain, a senior research analyst at Counterpoint. 

“Noise also focused on community building and slightly shifted its price base towards the lower side to make its smartwatches accessible to a larger group of people, a strategy that proved to be effective.”

 Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

Image: Reuters.