India’s Wearable Device Market Declined YoY for the First Time, Falling by 11.3% in 2024

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According to International Data Corporation’s (IDC) India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker, India's wearable device full-year shipments declined year-over-year (YoY) for the first time ever, falling 11.3% to 119.0 million units. The market also shrunk for the third consecutive quarter, down 8.7% to 25.9 million units in 4Q24. The average selling price (ASP) for overall wearables declined by 7.1% to $19.8 in 2024, after five years of double-digit decline.

Key Highlights of 2024:

Smartwatch shipments declined by 34.4% YoY to 35.0 million units. The Smartwatch share within wearables dropped to 29.4% from 39.8% in 2023. The lack of meaningful innovations and technological advancements led to muted consumer demand. Smartwatch ASPs declined by 9.1% from $25.8 to $23.5. Advanced smartwatches also declined by 13.1% YoY, though the share increased from 2.1% to 2.8%.

The earwear category registered a modest 3.8% YoY growth to 83.5 million units. Within earwear, the share of the Truly Wireless Stereo (TWS) segment reached a record 70.9% from 67.2% a year ago, growing by 9.4% YoY, whereas neckband shipments declined by 17.1%. However, shipments for the over-the-ear segment increased by 83.6% to 4.5 million units. Annual ASPs for earwear stood at US$17.6, declining by 3.0%.

In the overall wearable category, boat (Imagine Marketing) continued to lead as share increased from 26.0% to 27.6%, followed by Noise (Nexxbase) with a 12.2% share in 2024. Boult was the only company among the Top Five to register a growth of 10.8%. In the TWS category, the Top Three companies, namely boat, Boult and Nexxbase, registered double-digit growth annually.

Shipments to the offline channel grew by 7.2% with its share reaching 37.8% from 31.3% a year ago. Online channel shipments declined by 19.7% YoY after a few years of double-digit growth. The growth was hindered primarily by the smartwatch category, with online shipments of smartwatches declining by 43.0%. Earwear too dropped by 5.1% YoY.

“India’s wearable market peaked in 2023 (biggest globally), with 134.2 million shipments. It was a global driver for low-cost smartwatches led by a plethora of affordable options, low product penetration, and the high share of non-branded (white label) products. However, it was plagued by undifferentiated products, fewer launches and consolidation of long tail of brands in 2024,” said Anand Priya Singh, market analyst, Smart Wearable Devices, IDC India.

The smart ring category continues to grow, with 323 thousand shipments in 2024, up from 113 thousand in 2023. ASPs for rings grew by 1.9% to $174.7. Ultrahuman led with a 40.1% share, Pi Ring was second with a 20.4% share, and Aabo landed in third position with a 16.8% share in 2024.

2025 India Wearables Market Forecast

”In 2025, the India wearables market is expected to remain flat as the decline of the smartwatch category will offset the earwear segment’s single-digit growth,” says Vikas Sharma, senior market analyst, Smart Wearable Devices, IDC India. “Also, emerging categories like smart rings and smart glasses are expected to see high double-digit growth. In the upcoming quarters, innovations will likely revolve around the convergence of advanced sensing technologies and artificial intelligence applications plus more sophisticated health monitoring features like blood pressure monitoring.”