Samsung's smartwatch shipments grew 43% in Q2, but Apple remained on top

The nearly two-year-old Galaxy Watch Active 2 continues to be extremely popular among consumers.

What you need to know

• The global smartwatch market grew 27% YoY in Q2 2021.
• Apple remained the world's largest smartphone vendor, but its market share declined slightly due to intensifying competition.
• Samsung's smartwatch shipments rose 43% YoY.

The global smartwatch market finally recovered and grew 27% in the second quarter of the year, according to the latest Global Smartwatch Model Tracker from Counterpoint Research. The sub-$100 smartwatch segment grew by a whopping 547% YoY during the April to June period, which points to the growing popularity of budget smartwatches.

Unsurprisingly, Apple was the top smartwatch maker in terms of shipments. However, its market share declined from 30.1% last year to 28%. Analysts at Counterpoint Research attribute the decline to "intensifying competition with Chinese and Indian brands." Despite the slight decline in market share, Apple Watch active user base continued to grow steadily and surpassed the 100 million mark during the quarter ended June.

Huawei, despite continuing to battle U.S. sanctions, managed to hold on to its No.2 position, with a market share of 9.3%. However, it was the only one among the top five brands to witness a decline in shipments compared to the same period last year.

Samsung, which remained the third largest smartwatch vendor in Q2 2021, registered an impressive 43% YoY growth in shipments. Its market share also increased from 7% in Q2 2020 to 7.6%. The rise in shipments was apparently due to the "steady popularity of the Galaxy Watch 3 and Galaxy Watch Active 2.

The top-selling smartwatch during the quarter was the Apple Watch Series 6, followed by the Apple Watch Series SE. Samsung's Galaxy Watch Active 2, which still remains one of the best Android smartwatches, was the third most popular smartwatch globally.

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