India's smartwatch shipments stagnated for the first time, rising marginally by 0.3 per cent (year-on-year) in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, a new report said on Thursday. According to Counterpoint Research, the top three OEMs' (original equipment manufacturers) combined market share dropped to 66 per cent in Q1 from 77 per cent a year ago.

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"The overall market, which has been registering double- and triple-digit growth over the last couple of years, remained flat in Q1 2024 as some top brands faced difficulties in clearing their existing stocks," said Senior Research Analyst Anshika Jain.

In terms of brands, Fire-Boltt continued to lead the market, followed by Noise and boAt, respectively.

In the premium segment, Apple grew more than 3 times due to continued demand for the Apple Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. For Samsung, almost 50 per cent of its shipments volume came from the Galaxy Watch 6 series, the report said.

"The hyper-growth of smartwatches in the Indian market over the past few years has been primarily driven by its appeal as a low-cost fashion accessory. However, this initial growth phase is now cooling down as the initial excitement of the segment is tapering off," said Research Analyst Harshit Rastogi.

As per analysts, the market is expected to witness a double-digit percentage decline in 2024. "However, in 2026 and beyond, we expect the market to recover driven by newer use cases in smartwatches," said Rastogi.