Indian millennials fall in love with true smartwatches

New Delhi: Smartwatches do tell the time — like smartphones that still make and receive calls — but this particular wearable segment has come of age with real-life use cases in areas like health and fitness along with a connected app ecosystem that has made them a preferred choice for the Indian millennials.

According to the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) “Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker Q3 2019”, 3.07 lakh watches were shipped during the third quarter into India — registering 47 percent growth quarter-on-quarter and 127 percent growth year-on-year.

Among the watches, the country saw the arrival of 1.87 lakh smartwatches in the third quarter, registering 28 percent QoQ growth and 93 percent YoY growth.

With a strong millennial base with rising disposable income, India now offers immense growth potential for the smartwatch players, currently being dominated by the Apple Watch Series.

Here, one has to understand the difference between a true smartwatch and a basic one.

Apple, Fitbit, and Fossil are true smartwatches while the rest of the crowd comes under the basic watch (with smart features) category. To make it simpler, a basic watch is like an entry-level smartphone — brands like Huami’s Amazfit, Huawei, etc. — while smartwatch — that can run third-party applications on the device itself — is considered truly ‘smart’.

“Basic watch includes devices resembling traditional wrist-worn watches and/or devices where timekeeping is a primary function. Timekeeping and a default watch screen, or watch face is a requirement for a device to be considered as a basic ‘watch’,” Jaipal Singh, Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India said. In a price-conscious market like India, several brands have entered the basic watch category with smart features, especially related to health and fitness. (IANS)

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