Global smartwatch shipments in Q1 2026 rose 4% year over year, with Apple and Huawei doing most of the heavy lifting. Buyers are still willing to pay for health features, better sensors, and a more premium watch, while cheaper bands and basic trackers keep losing the spotlight.
Counterpoint Research says Apple led the market with 23% of shipments, helped by the refreshed line-up and the cheaper Apple Watch SE 3. Huawei, meanwhile, kept pushing demand in China and beyond by leaning harder into health tracking, sleep monitoring, emotional well-being features, and AI. That mix is doing more than selling watches; it is nudging users to upgrade earlier than they otherwise would.
Apple’s premium push in smartwatch shipments
More than half of Apple’s shipments came from North America, but its fastest growth came from China and Europe. That is a useful reminder that Apple’s watch business is no longer just a home-market story. The company’s health upgrades and the lower entry price of the SE 3 appear to be widening the funnel without forcing the brand to fight on bargain-bin terms.
- Apple’s share of global smartwatch shipments: 23%
- More than half of Apple’s shipments came from North America
- Fastest growth came from China and Europe
Huawei smartwatch shipments keep China in focus
China was the standout regional market, with smartwatch shipments up 15% in the quarter. Huawei holds about 40% of that market, followed by Imoo and Xiaomi, and the government subsidy programme for electronics helped too. In other words, this was not just a consumer taste shift; policy was also quietly doing its part.
The interesting part is how health has become the universal selling point. Huawei is pushing sleep, wellness, and AI features, while Apple is using health improvements and price discipline to keep premium buyers inside its ecosystem. Competitors that still treat smartwatches like glorified notification screens are going to have a rougher time.
Smartwatch shipments in 2026 face memory shortages
Counterpoint says memory shortages and the macroeconomy will weigh on the segment in 2026, but premium models should blunt the hit because their margins are higher. That helps explain why the market recovered in 2025 after a slump in 2024. The next question is whether health and AI features can keep justifying higher prices, or whether buyers eventually decide their wrist does not need quite this much intelligence.