'Wrist War' Smartwatch Market Expands... Mid-Range Floods In and Big Tech Joins In

Motorola, Xiaomi, and Others Compete in the 100,000-Won Range
Big Tech Like Google and Meta Join Next Year
Apple and Samsung Continue to Lead Growth

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] The global smartwatch market, led by the Apple Watch, is gradually expanding. Following Samsung Electronics, the 'rival' that has raised the curtain on the 'wrist doctor' war by enhancing healthcare functions, companies like Motorola and Xiaomi are also entering the battlefield by launching mid-to-low-priced watches around 100,000 won. Next year, big tech companies such as Google and Meta (formerly Facebook) are also expected to join.

Motorola's 100,000-won Bet

Motorola 'Moto Watch 100'

According to the industry on the 19th, Motorola's recently unveiled 'Moto Watch 100' is notable for running on its own developed 'Moto OS' instead of Google's Wear operating system (OS), and is priced at $99.99 (about 120,000 won). This is significantly lower than the Apple Watch, which costs around 500,000 won. It is also cheaper than Samsung Electronics' new smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch 4 (269,000 won). As a latecomer in the smartwatch market, this move is interpreted as an attempt to establish itself in the market by emphasizing affordable pricing rather than leading-edge features.

Manufacturers from the Greater China region are also leveraging price competitiveness. Huawei officially launched the 'Huawei Watch GT3,' a smartwatch priced in the 300,000 won range, on the 30th of this month, and on the same day, Xiaomi began selling the budget model 'Redmi Watch 2,' priced under 100,000 won. Xiaomi will officially launch the 'Redmi Watch 2 Lite' in Korea on the 26th with a retail price of 79,900 won.

Xiaomi 'Redmi Watch 2 Lite'

Fierce War on the Wrist

The already heated smartwatch market is expected to become even more intense next year with the addition of big tech companies like Google and Meta. Google is expected to unveil its first smartwatch, the 'Pixel Watch,' in the first quarter of next year. According to anticipated images released by famous IT tipster Jon Prosser, it features a round display with a bezel-less design. Google is reported to equip it with its own OS, Wear OS, as well as its own system-on-chip (SoC).

Facebook, recently renamed Meta, is also expected to release a smartwatch as early as next year. Meta's smartwatch is attracting attention as it is expected to have a camera mounted at the bottom of the display. If Meta releases a product equipped with a camera capable of video calls and video conferences as expected, it is anticipated to secure differentiated competitiveness from existing products.

Expected Image of Meta Smartwatch

Market Leaders Apple and Samsung

The smartwatch market has accelerated its growth in recent years. According to market research firm Strategy Analytics (SA), global smartwatch shipments reached 18 million units in the second quarter of this year, a 47% increase compared to the same period last year. As functions supporting health management, such as electrocardiogram and body composition analysis, have diversified, more and more people are purchasing smartwatches.

The growth trend is expected to continue. According to market research firm Research and Markets, the global smartwatch market is projected to grow from $59.02 billion (about 69.7 trillion won) this year to $99 billion (about 116.9 trillion won) by 2025.

Samsung Electronics 'Galaxy Watch4 Maison Kitsun? Edition'

Existing leading companies are not letting up. Currently, Apple maintains an unshakable number one position in the smartwatch market, with Samsung Electronics and others in pursuit. According to SA, Apple held a 52.5% share of the global smartwatch market in the second quarter of this year, accounting for more than half, followed by Samsung Electronics at 11.0%.

Maintaining its dominant position, Apple officially launched its new product, the 'Apple Watch 7,' last month to solidify its throne. Samsung Electronics, after releasing the Watch 4 series in August along with the Thom Browne edition, continued to attract market attention by unveiling the Maison Kitsun? edition in October, the Wooyoungmi edition in November, and the golf brand PXG edition. On the 16th, Samsung also rolled out a software update enabling Watch 4 features on existing Galaxy Watch series models.

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