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Apple sprints ahead of Garmin in wearables race
10 Dec 2024
A surprising twist in the wearable tech race saw the Apple Watch overtaking Garmin as the preferred choice for casual runners, particularly those conquering the 5K distance. This revelation comes from recent Strava data for 2024, which highlight a growing preference for Apple Watch among shorter distance runners, while Garmin Forerunner maintains its dominance for longer runs.
Two athletes running in the Las Vegas speed project campaign. Source: apple.com
This shift in the running landscape coincides with a period of significant growth in the global wearable band market.
According to Canalys, the market expanded by 3% year-on-year in Q3 2024, reaching 52.9m units.
Interestingly, all three wearable categories – basic bands, basic watches, and smartwatches – experienced annual growth.
- Basic bands made a comeback, driven by new launches from Xiaomi and Samsung.
- Smartwatch shipments saw marginal growth, with Huawei and Samsung offsetting Apple's decline.
- Xiaomi tied with Apple for the top spot, fuelled by the popularity of the Mi Band 9 and Redmi Watch 5 series.
- Emerging markets demonstrated strong growth potential, contrasting with a decline in North America.
Hot competition in sports watch segment
While Apple gains traction with casual runners, the sports watch market is also facing intensified competition.
Smartphone giants like Apple, Samsung, Huawei, and Xiaomi are aggressively targeting this niche with advanced features and specialised devices.
The addition of training load and AI-assisted workout plans in Huawei’s latest wearables all the way down to the Huawei Watch Fit 3 – the company’s cheapest GPS capable wearable – demonstrates a renewed focus on the performance orientated market.
Canalys research highlights the strategic importance of the sports watch market for these vendors, citing opportunities to:
- Capture niche markets
- Expand partnerships
- Enhance ecosystem connectivity
- Generate new revenue streams
However, challenges remain in overcoming brand perception, technological barriers, and ensuring data security.
Emerging trends
As the wearable tech landscape continues to evolve, innovation and user experience will be key differentiators.
These figures paint a picture of a shifting landscape in the wearables market.
While basic bands and watches, driven by new offerings from Xiaomi (Mi Band 9) and Samsung (Galaxy Fit3), show signs of life, the growth of basic watch appears to be plateauing.
“Regional disparities define the wearable band market, with emerging markets showing strong growth potential while North America struggles,” said Cynthia Chen, research manager at Canalys.
“Emerging markets offer vendors the chance to expand through cost-effective devices, as evidenced by the success of Xiaomi’s band series and Samsung’s Galaxy Fit3 in driving growth in Latin America and EMEA.”
Conversely, North America faces declining demand, hindered by reduced demand for Apple’s legacy models and Fitbit’s shrinking share, as mature markets lack compelling features to drive upgrades, leading to continued sluggish performance.
Compatibility issues
Meanwhile, the smartwatch category, though experiencing only marginal overall growth, reveals an interesting dynamic: Huawei and Samsung are making gains, potentially at the expense of Apple, hinting at a growing appetite for more advanced built-in features and increased smartwatch adoption among Android users.
This trend aligns with the rise of sports watches, which cater to users with specific fitness needs and performance goals.
As the lines between smartwatch and sports watch continue to blur, innovation in areas like sensor technology, data analysis, and user experience will be crucial for vendors looking to capture this evolving market.
