Is this the beginning of the end for smartwatches?

According to Counterpoint Research's report, the smartwatch industry is losing market share at a steady pace. After ending 2022 with a surprising -8% drop, the first quarter of 2023 witnessed a further loss of -1.5%. Worldwide, the only country that recorded a growth in share was India, with an increase of 121%, and total sales accounting for 27% of the entire planet. The main contributor to the partial economic crisis of smartwatches remains the war in Ukraine, which is limiting the availability of supply chains for technology companies of all kinds, severely affecting the entire sector, although the recent revival in popularity of vintage, customised, or simply analogue watches is certainly another influential factor. 

Apple continues to lead the entire smartwatch sector, despite the fact that this 2023 the brand co-founded by Steve Jobs also lost around 6% year-on-year, and the rapid market growth that is taking place in India also hardly reflects a possible recovery in sales of watches such as the Apple Watch, given that the majority of connected watch sales in the country are for cheaper items, such as those of Fire Boltt, the Indian watch company that managed to overtake even Samsung in the first quarter of 2023 to become the world's second favourite brand. According to Counterpoint Research analyst Woojin Son, the strong sales growth that smartwatches have always shown is now in going through a period of stagnation because «amidst a global slowdown in demand, consumer trends have changed and are much more spending-based than before.»