Samsung Surpasses Xiaomi to Rank 2nd in 'Wearables'... Gap with Apple Still Wide

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[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] Samsung Electronics recorded a 35% year-on-year growth in the global wearable market, including smartwatches and wireless earphones, in the first quarter of this year, surpassing China's Xiaomi to take second place. However, the gap with Apple, the 'number one' that has virtually dominated the wearable market, remains large. In terms of shipments as well as market share, Samsung is still less than half of Apple's level. Samsung Electronics and Apple will once again compete by launching new wireless earphones and smartwatches, respectively, in the second half of this year.

According to market research firm IDC on the 29th, global wearable shipments in the first quarter reached 104.6 million units, a 34.4% increase compared to 77.8 million units in the same period last year. By manufacturer, Apple, led by Apple Watch and iPod, shipped 30.1 million units, up 19.8%. Apple's market share in the first quarter was 28.8%, slightly down from the same period last year but still the market leader.

Samsung Electronics followed with shipments of 11.8 million units, ranking second. Its market share was 11.3%, similar to the previous year. China's Xiaomi ranked third with 10.2 million units and a 9.7% market share. IDC noted, "This is the first time Samsung Electronics has surpassed Xiaomi in the first quarter," citing the expansion of the Galaxy Buds portfolio as the background.

However, the gap between market leader Apple and Samsung Electronics remains significant.

According to a first-quarter global smartwatch market report released by market research firm Counterpoint Research, Apple's market share was 33.5%, ranking first. It was followed by Huawei (8.4%) and Samsung (8.5%). Samsung Electronics' first-quarter shipments increased by 27% compared to a year ago, but its market share decreased by 0.5 percentage points.

Counterpoint Research pointed out that recent smartwatch sales vary greatly depending on the OS platform installed. Apple's watchOS, ranked first, naturally integrates with the nearly one billion iPhone users and accounts for more than 30% of the market, whereas the Google Android camp does not. Major manufacturers in the Android camp, such as Samsung Electronics and Fitbit, have developed and installed proprietary OSs like Tizen. Counterpoint Research stated, "Google Wear OS lags behind in terms of functionality, battery optimization, and chipset support," adding that it accounts for only 4% of the global smartwatch market.

However, considering recent partnership announcements between Samsung Electronics and Google, Counterpoint Research predicted that this trend could soon change. Samsung Electronics announced that it will integrate its proprietary Tizen OS, which has been installed on its smartwatches, with Google Wear OS. This will create a kind of Android camp alliance. The integrated OS is expected to be installed on Samsung's next smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch 4. It is anticipated to be unveiled along with new Galaxy Buds at the second half-year Unpacked event in August.

Apple is also preparing to solidify its market share by launching new products in the second half of the year. The upcoming release of the wireless earphones AirPods 3 is attracting significant market attention as it will be the first new product in about two years since the launch of AirPods Pro in the second half of 2019. Bloomberg reported that Apple is working on revamping the entire AirPods lineup and that a more affordable AirPods model with a shorter stem is expected to be released within the year. IT tipster Jon Prosser predicted that Apple will also unveil the Apple Watch 7 (tentative name) in September.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.