Consumer Enthusiasm for Wearable Devices Drives the Mar...
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Consumer Enthusiasm for Wearable Devices Drives
the Market to 28.4% Growth in 2020, According to
IDC
NEEDHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Worldwide shipments of wearable devices reached
153.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 (4Q20), a year-over-year increase of 27.2% according
to new data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable
Device Tracker. Shipments for the full year grew 28.4% to 444.7 million units. While the holiday
quarter was largely driven by new devices and lower prices, the broader trend for 2020 was the
surge in consumer spending for electronics as disposable income was reallocated from leisure
activities during the pandemic.
Worldwide shipments of wearable devices reached 153.5 million in Q4 2020, a yearover-year increase of 27.2% according to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Wearable
Device Tracker.
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"While the shift in spending along with new products and typical seasonality were at play during
the fourth quarter, the pandemic has also been good for the market as it has put health and
fitness at the forefront of many consumers’ minds," said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for
IDC Mobile Device Trackers. "In-home fitness programs are quickly becoming a crucial
component of the wearables offering for many companies. Beyond that, the proliferation of
health sensors such as skin temperature, ECG, and heart rate tracking are allowing users and
health professionals to better understand the onset and tracking of diseases."
However, growth has not been even across the wearables market as some companies and
products were affected by the global semiconductor shortage. Most notably, wristbands declined
17.8% during the quarter and accounted for just 11.5% of all wearable devices shipped.
Hearables* were the largest category of devices with 64.2% share of shipments, followed by
watches with 24.1% share.
"2020 was the year that hearables became the must-have device," said Ramon T. Llamas,
research director for IDC's Wearables Team. "Hearables provided a new degree of privacy,
particularly during home quarantine but also while out in public. Meeting that demand was a
long list of vendors with an equally long list of devices, spanning the range of feature sets and
price points. Underpinning the hearables market was a constantly shifting competitive
landscape, with companies slowly gaining a foothold in the market (Amazon and its Echo Buds
and Frames), vendors introducing new form factors (Apple and AirPods Max), and new features
making their way down the price curve, including automatic noise cancelling and voice assistant
capability."
4Q20 Company Highlights
Apple led the market once again with 36.2% share of 4Q20 shipments. Its Watch shipments
rose 45.6% thanks to the appeal of three models with different price points (Series 6, Watch SE,
Series 3). Hearables shipments also surged during the quarter although year-over-year growth
slowed to 22%, down from 28% and 29% in the previous two quarters. The slowing growth
reflect the huge amount of adoption that the market has seen in recent quarters.
Xiaomi ended the quarter in the second position, growing 5% year over year. However, the
company's shipments of its popular Mi Band lineup declined 18.3% during the supplychallenged quarter. Driving overall growth was the expansion of the hearables line, which grew
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55.5% since last year and is largely focused on China and the rest of Asia/Pacific. Looking ahead,
the company is well positioned to gain from Huawei's declines as well as grow in EMEA thanks
to its push in the smartphone industry.
Samsung held the third position with growth coming from its hearables business as the
company shipped 8.8 million units across its various brands. Samsung's low-cost wristbands
also saw greater traction and were able to compete with the Chinese vendors in a few markets
although overall volume for these devices was relatively low at 1.3 million units. Overall watch
shipments declined to 2.9 million in 4Q20.
Huawei fell to fourth place in 4Q20 and continued to struggle with the sanctions imposed by
the U.S. government. While its shipments within China grew 9.4% year over year, shipments
declined in previously strong markets such as Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan and China), the
Middle East and Africa, and Western Europe. The company has slowly started to move away
from wristbands and towards watches as exhibited by the 18.2% growth in watch shipments and
the 33.7% decline in wristbands. Watches also command a higher average selling price (ASP)
and enabled the company to get closer to developers with its homegrown HarmonyOS, which is
expected to tie in with smartwatches in the future.
BoAt rounded out the top five with 5.4 million units shipped in 4Q20. However, the company is
solely operating in India and almost exclusively focuses on the hearables segment. As such,
global expansion may prove challenging as the global wearables market remains dominated by
multinational brands.
Top 5 Wearable Device Companies by Shipment Volume, Market Share, and YearOver-Year Growth, Q4 2020 (shipments in millions)
4Q20
4Q20 Market 4Q19
4Q19 Market Year-OverCompany
Shipments
Share
Shipments
Share
Year Growth
1. Apple
55.6
36.2
% 43.7
36.2
% 27.2
%
2. Xiaomi
13.5
8.8
% 12.8
10.6
% 5.0
%
3. Samsung
13.0
8.5
% 10.8
9.0
% 20.5
%
4. Huawei
10.2
6.7
% 9.5
7.9
% 7.6
%
5. BoAt
5.4
3.5
% 0.9
0.8
% 470.1
%
Others
55.8
36.4
% 42.9
35.6
% 30.0
%
Total
153.5
100.0
% 120.7
100.0
% 27.2
%
Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, March 2021
In addition to the table above, a graphic illustrating worldwide wearable device shipments by
product type and average selling price (ASP) over the previous five quarters is available by
viewing this press release on IDC.com.
Top 5 Wearable Device Companies by Shipment Volume, Market Share, and YearOver-Year Growth, 2020 (shipments in millions)
2020
2020 Market 2019
2019 Market Year-OverCompany
Shipments
Share
Shipments
Share
Year Growth
Apple
151.4
34.1
% 111.5
32.2
% 35.9
%
Xiaomi
50.7
11.4
% 41.7
12.0
% 21.7
%
Huawei
43.5
9.8
% 28.9
8.3
% 50.7
%
Samsung
40.0
9.0
% 31.4
9.1
% 27.3
%
Fitbit
12.9
2.9
% 15.9
4.6
% -18.8
%
Others
146.1
32.9
% 117.1
33.8
% 24.7
%
Total
444.7
100.0
% 346.4
100.0
% 28.4
%
Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, March 2021
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* For an earworn device to be considered a hearable by IDC's definition, it must offer
functionality beyond audio, like a smart assistant, health and fitness tracking, or audio
experience enhancement.
About IDC Trackers
IDC Tracker products provide accurate and timely market size, vendor share, and forecasts for
hundreds of technology markets from more than 100 countries around the globe. Using
proprietary tools and research processes, IDC's Trackers are updated on a semiannual,
quarterly, and monthly basis. Tracker results are delivered to clients in user-friendly Excel
deliverables and on-line query tools.
For more information about IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, please
contact Kathy Nagamine at 650-350-6423 or knagamine@idc.com.
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