Wearable device shipments in the first half of the year (January–June) fell 6.3% YoY to 51.6 million units. The slowdown was sharper in Q2 2025, when shipments dropped 9.4% YoY to 26.7 million units.
Prices showed little movement. The average selling price (ASP) of wearables in Q2 rose slightly by 2.2% YoY to $19.2, while the ASP for the first half of the year stayed flat at $18.7.
“Looking ahead to the festive second half, brands are expected to pivot towards mid-premium offerings, focusing on advanced health sensors, NFC support, AI-driven features for predictive health insights, and seamless integration with devices and ecosystems,” said Anand Priya Singh, market analyst, Smart Wearable Devices, IDC India. “Additionally, white-label smartwatches (low-cost knockoffs) are expected to regain momentum, particularly in the offline retail channel, driven by aggressive bundle offers.”
BoAt leads overall, Noise tops in smartwatches
Among brands, boAt (Imagine Marketing) held on to its lead in the overall wearables market, growing its share from 26.7% to 28% YoY. The company also dominated the earwear category. In the TWS (truly wireless stereo) segment, boAt led with a 31.9% share, followed by Boult at 14.9%, which saw strong growth. BoAt’s best performance came in the over-the-ear headphone segment, where shipments surged 198.4% YoY, giving it a 44.4% share.
In smartwatches, however, Noise (Nexxbase) stayed ahead with a 30.9% share, while boAt moved up to second place with 13.7%. Xiaomi emerged as the fastest-growing smartwatch brand, with shipments rising 145.5% YoY.
Smartwatches see sharpest fall
Smartwatches remained the weakest link, with shipments falling for the sixth consecutive quarter. Volumes dropped 28.4% YoY to 6.6 million units in Q2. Their share in the overall market shrank to 24.9%, down from 31.5% a year earlier.
Even though sales were lower, average prices went up 5.1% YoY, climbing from $20.6 to $21.7. The advanced smartwatch category also slumped, with shipments down 39.5% YoY and share slipping from 2.5% to 2.1%.
Earwear proves more resilient
The earwear segment showed more stability compared to smartwatches. Shipments fell only 1.2% YoY to 19.9 million units in Q2. TWS devices continued to dominate, making up 71.2% of shipments, though they dipped slightly by 1.2% YoY. Neck Bands dropped more sharply by 16.1% YoY, while over-the-ear headphones were the bright spot, almost doubling with 97.4% YoY growth to 1.5 million units. The ASP for earwear inched up 1.1% YoY to $17.4.
Offline sales hold up better than online
Sales channels also showed a split trend. Online sales slumped 13.8% YoY, with their market share falling from 63.4% to 60.3%. Online smartwatch shipments tumbled 37.2% YoY, while earwear dropped 4.2% YoY.
In contrast, the offline channel held steadier, dipping only 1.8% YoY. Offline earwear sales actually grew 4.4% YoY, showing resilience, though smartwatch sales through offline stores were down 14.8% YoY, still a smaller fall compared to online.