It appears that Samsung has lost some ground in the race for smartwatch supremacy over the first half of 2020. The company's global smartwatch shipment revenue share dropped from 9.3% in H1 2019 to 7.2% in H1 2020, and Samsung was outperformed by Apple, Garmin, and Huawei, the latter two of which have pushed the Korean tech giant off the podium. Samsung had the second-largest smartwatch shipment revenue share a year ago, but the company is now on fourth place.
Samsung's relatively poor performance can't really be blamed on the COVID-19 pandemic, as unlike the smartphone market, the smartwatch segment has been growing even in these uncertain economic times. The wearable market is sort of booming right now, as consumers are more health conscious than ever before. This has led to a surge in demand for smartwatches by 57%, 9%, and 5% year-on-year in India, Europe, and the USA, respectively.
The Galaxy Watch 3 could turn the tables
The Galaxy Watch Active 2 is a great smartwatch, as reflected in our review nearly a year ago, but Samsung's sleek wearable was sadly outperformed in terms of global shipment volumes by products from both Apple and Huawei. According to Counterpoint Research, the first and second best-selling smartwatch models in H1 2020 were the Apple Watch Series 5 and Series 3, respectively. The third place was secured by the Huawei Watch GT2, and the Galaxy Watch Active 2 fell on fourth place.
Although the first half of the year wasn't very positive for Samsung's smartwatch business, market watchers speculate that the brand-new Galaxy Watch 3 could turn the tables in Samsung's favor in the second half of the year. The Galaxy Watch 3 is a bit too expensive but it has a lot going on for itself so people might be compelled to buy it.
Galaxy Watch 3 review
