Chinese gear companies take on Indian wearable brands

Chinese companies are fast gaining pace in the Indian wearables market, currently dominated by homegrown brands. The competition is especially intense in the high volume audio segment and higher-priced smartwatches.

Chinese brands are pushing an ecosystem tied to their smartphone sales, leveraging their distribution heft across online and offline channels, and rapid technological innovations. Meanwhile, leading Indian brands, hit hard by the sharp fall in smartwatch sales last year, are pivoting towards higher price categories in the audio space to maximise value. They are also working on niche use cases for smartwatches and improving hardware and software offerings in a bid to entice repeat buyers.

“There has been a drastic upgrade in the portfolio of audio products from OnePlus and Realme (both Chinese) this year. OnePlus introduced four new models, while Realme launched 5-6 new models of truly wireless earbuds across price bands,” said Anshika Jain, research analyst at Counterpoint Research.

In smartwatches, offerings from OnePlus and Xiaomi, which are comparatively pricier than the market average, are seeing strong traction. Older, Android-powered smartwatches from Samsung are also experiencing a surge in sales, while the growing cohort of iPhone users are fuelling sales of Apple smartwatches, especially during the festive season when substantial discounts are offered, market trackers said.

“We feel the market is due for an upgrade because people have been buying wearables for many years now, and the cycle of first-time buyers is over. Repeat customers are coming in now, who need better products. It’s an upgrader market now, so whoever can cater to them will see growth,” said Amit Khatri, co-founder of smartwatch market leader Noise. The company’s market share rose from 22.1% in 2023, to 25.2% in 2024, despite a 25.2% decline in shipments, according to IDC.

Noise recently launched a smartwatch priced at Rs 8,000, well above the market average of Rs 1,700, which Khatri claims is getting a good response. The company also secured an investment from audio equipment maker Bose and launched a premium product in partnership with Bose last week.

“We are looking to cater to the mid-premium segment of the user base. So, this partnership (with Bose) would maybe build premiumisation in the overall brand positioning for Noise and the overall portfolio,” Khatri said.

According to him, Indian brands like Noise, with their large volumes, are making it tough for the Chinese to compete and grab market share.

“We are the third largest in watches in the world right now, so we are ahead of the Chinese and have a right to win. We are doing a good job in the Rs 4,000-5,000 price segment where Chinese brands are also there. Xiaomi is there. And now at Rs 5,000-10,000, we have a new product. You will see that with this kind of R&D and innovation, we will make it tough,” Khatri said.

He cited ecosystem partnerships, app stability, and app downloads of Indian smartwatch brands are much ahead of the Chinese rivals.

The product introductions are aimed at attracting new buyers and igniting consumer interest after a sharp decline in smartwatch sales last year.

“Smartwatch sales saw a drastic 30% decline in shipments in 2024. The main reason was low consumer demand because the upgrade cycle was much weaker, and people were not repurchasing smartwatches after a poor experience with their first smartwatch,” Jain said.

IDC India said smartwatch sales declined 34.4% to 35 million units in 2024, due to a lack of meaningful innovations and technological advancements leading to muted consumer demand.

Amid this declining market, Indian brands continue to have the lion’s share though global and Chinese brands are fast moving in.

The market shares of Chinese brands rose to 3% in 2024 from 2% in the previous year, while premium brands like Samsung and Apple doubled their share to 6% as repeat buyers of smartwatches preferred higher-end products that integrate well with their smartphones and offer a more holistic health tracking, according to Counterpoint Research.