Counterpoint Research analysts summed up the last quarter of 2020 in the smartwatch market. Since this is the last quarter of the year, the report includes data for the year as a whole.
So, in the fourth quarter of 2020, the smartwatch market declined slightly on an annualized basis. Analysts attribute this to a new wave of the pandemic, which negatively affected sales. In general, the market grew by only 1.5% over the year.
Not all manufacturers have experienced the impact of negative factors to the same extent. Thus, Apple, the market leader, has increased shipments from 28.4 million units in 2019 to 33.9 million units in 2020, that is, by 19%. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, Apple owned 40% of the market. The year before, Apple’s share was 34%.
Samsung is in second place for the quarter with 10%. In the fourth quarter of 2019, the share of the South Korean giant was 9%. For the entire 2020, Samsung shipped 9.1 million devices. This is about 1% less than in 2019. At the end of the year, Samsung ranks third.
The third place in the quarterly ranking belongs to Huawei. The share of Huawei is 8%, in the fourth quarter of 2019 it was 9%. In 2020, the company shipped 11.1 million devices, increasing shipments compared to 2019, when 8.7 million devices were shipped, by 26%. As a result, at the end of the year, Huawei ranks second.
The top five – for both the quarter and the year – also include BBK and Fitbit. However, they have nothing to brag about: the first one shipped 6.6 million smartwatches in a year, which is 9% less in annual terms, and the second – 5.9 million, which is 4% less. Quarterly, Fitbit holds 7% of the market, BBK – 6%.
Gizchina News of the week
New Galaxy Watch WearOS codename surfaces online!
Samsung is reportedly working on a next-generation of Galaxy Watch wearables. Considering the regular trend, the smartwatch should see its official unveiling somewhere in the month of August. While we still don’t have any information on the internals, various reports point towards the WearOS version. Well, the recent development seems to mention WearOS for a new codename. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
According to a new report by SamMobile, a new codename has appeared on the web – Merlot. For those who’re unaware, Merlot is a relatively old codename that made its way around during the kernel release of Galaxy S20. As you can see in the screenshot below, Merlot is associated with the WearOS keyword suggesting a new codename for the Galaxy Watch. It is worth noting that the latest kernel source code of One UI 3.1 does not mention Merlot.
The previous report already points to two other codenames namely Wise and Fresh. The Wise seems to correspond to the good ol’ TizenOS version of Galaxy Watch while Fresh might point towards the alleged WearOS version. There’s a solid chance that Samsung might be referring to this new WearOS version as Merlot and later down the road, decided to go with the Wise and Fresh keywords.
To recall, we also know the two different model numbers of the next-gen Galaxy Watch. We’re talking about SM-R86x and SM-R87x. Both the model number suggests the next iteration of Galaxy Watch lineup. We should expect to see physical rotating bezels yet again as it is the defining aspect of the series.
