Huawei continues to dominate the global smartwatch market in 1Q26 and is giving its competitors a tough spot. Meanwhile, brands like Apple, Xiaomi, and Samsung are following the Chinese OEM, with some showing negative performance in shipments.
IDC has revealed the 1Q26 global smartwatch market ranking chart, where Huawei has topped the sales with 20.2% of the market share. Though there is a catch.
The company has shipped 9.5 million smartwatch units in the first three months of this year, which is a decline of 4.6% compared to the same period last year.
In Q1 2025, Huawei sold 10 million smartwatches in the global market with a market share of 21.7%. But this time, the figure has dropped due to fierce competition. IDC shared three major factors behind the market sales in the first quarter:
- Smartwatches are doing well, but fitness trackers are losing pace. Due to early depletion of demand last year, rising storage costs, and lower-priced smartwatches, fitness trackers didn’t receive much attention in Q1 2026.
- Budget-friendly or entry-level smartwatches gained more demand than other wearables. Devices priced below $100 maintained stable sales. High-end watches with premium features also showed incredible growth.
- China is currently the leading country in global smartwatch growth. The Chinese smartwatch market is witnessing a 3.5% year-over-year increase in the first quarter of this year, with 18.14 million sales. US and Latin America are gaining momentum gradually.
(Image Credits: IDC)
The second rank goes to Apple with 8 million shipments, 17% of the market share, and 13.2% YoY growth. Xiaomi appeared in the third spot and fell to 6.9% YoY, holding a market share of 16.9%.
Samsung and Garmin achieved the fourth and fifth positions, respectively. The former sold 2.7 million smartwatches globally with a 20.7% decline year-on-year and a market share of 5.8%, while the latter scored 2.4 million sales and 12.7% YoY growth.
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