If a report by IDC is to be believed, then more Indians are wearing smartwatches than anytime before. Driving the ‘craze’ for smartwatches in India is none other than Apple. According to the IDC report, the watch segment in India grew significantly. As per the report, “Watches saw a 139.3% YoY growth with 2.6 million unit shipments in 2020.”
Leading the smartwatch category is none other than Apple. Apple, according to IDC, has a 51% market share in the smartwatch category. IDC classifies smartwatches as devices “which can run third-party applications on the device itself”.
Jaipal Singh, associate research manager, client devices, IDC India, says, “The high cost associated with wearable watches is not much of a challenge anymore. Also, the watch form factor is now seen as more appealing to the consumers, and vendors will leverage this shift by further expanding their watches portfolio in coming quarters”.
Apple did expand its Watch portfolio in 2020 and launched two models simultaneously for the first time. The Apple Watch SE — the more ‘affordable’ variant — and the Watch Series 6 were launched in 2020. While the Watch Series 6 starts at Rs 40,990, the Watch SE starts at Rs 29,990.
In addition to this, Apple didn’t discontinue its popular Watch Series 3. Although a three-year-old model, the Watch Series 3 is meant to be the entry-point for buyers in the Apple Watch ecosystem. Priced at Rs 20,990, the Watch Series 3 is the cheapest Apple Watch you can buy in India. During festive or other sales on e-commerce sites, there’s a good chance for buyers to snag it anywhere close to Rs 15,000.