Wireless Earbuds Driving the Wearable Market... 30% Growth in 1Q

Q1 Shipments Reach 72.6 Million Units, 29.7% Growth from Last Year
Apple Watch Declines but AirPods Boost Sales by 8 Million Units Compared to Last Year
Samsung Ranks 3rd with Over 4 Million Galaxy Buds Series Sold

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Despite the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the growth of wireless earphones has driven a 30% increase in wearable device shipments in the first quarter compared to last year.

According to market research firm IDC on the 28th (local time), first-quarter wearable device shipments reached 72.6 million units, a 29.7% increase compared to the same period last year.

Wearable shipments and market shares by company are as follows: ▲Apple 21.2 million units (29.3%) ▲Xiaomi 10.1 million units (14.0%) ▲Samsung Electronics 8.6 million units (11.9%) ▲Huawei 8.1 million units (11.1%) ▲Fitbit 2.2 million units (3.0%) ▲Others 22.3 million units (30.8%). IDC researcher Gitesh Ubrani explained, "During working from home due to COVID-19, people chose wireless earphones as a way to reduce surrounding noise and increase productivity," adding, "The hearable category responded resiliently to the market contraction caused by COVID-19."

Q1 Wearable Device Shipments (Source: IDC)

Smartwatch shipments in Q1. Smart bands excluded. (Source=IDC)

Apple’s Apple Watch shipments (4.5 million units) decreased by 100,000 units from the previous quarter due to supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19, but growth in wireless earphones such as Beats and AirPods offset the decline, maintaining the top spot in wearable shipments. Sales of wearable products excluding smartwatches reached 16.7 million units. Compared to 13.3 million units in the first quarter of last year, wearable shipments increased by about 8 million units, growing 59.9% year-over-year.

Xiaomi maintained second place thanks to smartwatches and bands. Of the total 10.1 million wearable devices, 7.3 million units came from smartwatches and bands. Xiaomi is strengthening its brand presence by expanding beyond China through offline stores and online distributors. Shipments grew 56.4% compared to last year.

Samsung Electronics also ranked third, boosted by the popularity of wireless earphones Galaxy Buds and Buds Plus. More than 4 million units of these two models were sold during the first quarter. Total wearable shipments increased by 3.6 million units, growing 71.7% compared to last year. Samsung’s smartwatch shipments recorded 1.8 million units, down 200,000 units from last year (2 million units), maintaining third place behind Huawei.

Huawei maintained fourth place with its 'Honor' series and achieved solid sales in Europe, South America, and Asia outside China, but is expected to face negative impacts in the long term due to the US-China trade dispute and political tensions. Huawei’s wearable shipments increased by 3.1 million units year-over-year, growing 62.2%. Fitbit faced supply issues caused by COVID-19, resulting in a 26.1% decrease in quarterly shipments. Wearable shipments dropped by 700,000 units compared to last year (2.9 million units).