India shipped 105.9 mn units of wearables in first 3 quarters of CY 2023: IDC
The Hindu
India's wearable market shipped a record 48.1M units in 3Q2023, a 29.2% YoY growth. Smartwatches led the charge with 41% YoY growth, while earwear shipments grew 23.6%. ASPs declined due to discounts & offers, but premium options drove up ASPs in basic segment. Brands focus on localisation, in-house app integration & connectivity in 2024.
India’s wearable market shipped a record 48.1 million units in the third quarter (July-September) of calendar 2023, a 29.2% year-on-year growth, reported International Data Corporation’s (IDC) India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker on Wednesday.
With this, the market shipped 105.9 million units in the first three quarters of calendar 2023, which was more than 100.1 million units shipped in the whole of 2022, the research outfit said.
“Continuous new model launches by brands across price points and product categories is the key reason for this momentum. Apart from the new smartwatch and earwear models, smart rings became prominent in 3Q23. The overall average selling price (ASPs) declined by 20.4% from $27.2 to $21.7,’‘ it further said.
Smartwatches remained the fastest growing category with 16.9 million units, growing by 41.0% YoY as incumbent vendors shipped aggressively to stock for the upcoming festive season. Heavy discounting and offers across channels led to a 35.3% YoY drop in smartwatch ASPs to $26.7 in 3Q23. However, the ASPs grew QoQ (quarter-on-quarter) by 4.3%, up from $25.6 last quarter, due to the increased share of advanced smartwatches from 1.5% to 2.4%, as well as the introduction of premium options in the basic smartwatch segment, as per IDC survey.
Within wearables, the share of earwear dropped to 64.4% from 67.3% a year ago, but shipments still grew 23.6% to 30.9 million units. Within earwear, the Truly Wireless Stereo (TWS) segment took 68.4% share with strong growth of 46.7% YoY, whereas neck bands declined by 6.9% YoY. ASPs for TWS and neckbands stood at $19.5 and US$14.2 with declines of 17.1% and 4.6% YoY, respectively
On outlook, Vikas Sharma, Senior Market Analyst, Wearable Devices, IDC India said, brands have upped the game with high-end specifications at entry-level pricing. This combined with high-decibel marketing campaigns and promotions would drive 4Q23 shipments, resulting in strong double digit annual growth in 2023. “In 2024, we will see an enhanced focus on localisation of UI/UX, in-house app integration, SIM-based or standalone calling and Wi-Fi connectivity on basic smartwatches.’‘
Rupee drops 23 paise to 89.94 against the dollar amid negative equity trends and rising crude prices.
The commencement of commercial flight from the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is expected to speed up infrastructure and real estate development across Navi Mumbai and surrounding regions, analysts & industry executives said.
GCCs keep India’s tech job market alive, even as IT services industry embarks on a hiring moratorium
Global Capability Centres, offshore subsidiaries set up by multinational corporations, mostly known by an acronym GCCs, are now the primary engine sustaining India’s tech job market, contrasting sharply with the hiring slowdown witnessed by large firms in the country.
India’s manufacturing sector underperforms compared to China and South Korea, partly due to public sector wages that raise costs and reduce competitiveness.
Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, once prominent investors in the Indian equity market are seen shying away due to rupee depreciation and have moved to global funds, said a top financial services executive.
Mobile phones are increasingly migrating to smaller chips that are more energy efficient and powerful supported by specialised Neural Processing Units (NPUs) to accelerate AI workloads directly on devices, said Anku Jain, India Managing Director for MediaTek, a Taiwanese fabless semiconductor firm that claims a 47% market share India’s smartphone chipset market.
In one more instance of a wholly owned subsidiary of a Chinese multinational company in India getting ‘Indianised’, Bharti Enterprises, a diversified business conglomerate with interests in telecom, real estate, financial services and food processing among others, and the local arm of private equity major Warburg Pincus have announced to collectively own a 49% stake in Haier India, a subsidiary of the Haier Group which is headquartered in Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Indian stock markets closed lower amid volatility, with key firms lagging as global trends influenced trading activity.
Bharti and Warburg Pincus invest in Haier India, acquiring a 49% stake to enhance growth and innovation in consumer durables.
India's net FDI remains negative for October 2025, with outflows surpassing inflows amid trade deal uncertainties.
Bombay High Court halts fraud notices to Anil Ambani, questioning banks' compliance and the audit's validity.
Explore the key business events that defined India in 2025, from trade wars to regulatory reforms and corporate expansions.
The rarely-used eight-unit Fisk power plant owned by Houston-based NRG Energy was scheduled to retire next year. But then came from artificial intelligence.