Apple has continued to dominate the smartwatch game in terms of shipments in Q1 2026 according to a report by Counterpoint.
Apple’s performance was driven by global adoption of the new Apple Watches that have advanced health tracking capabilities. In autumn last year, Apple launched the Apple Watch Series 11 and the SE 3 which were modest upgrades from yesteryear.
As per the report, Apple leads the global shipments share with 23% of the market with Huawei second at 17% and Xiaomi third at 10%. Samsung was fifth on the list with 5% market share.
Apple’s performance was driven by North America which contributed over half of the total shipments. However, China and Europe recorded the fastest growth of the brand. The report claims the addition of meaningful health upgrades and the affordable Apple Watch SE 3 attracted new buyers.
The more interesting statistic is their growth or decline year on year. Apple shipments rose 21% YoY, which is the fastest growth among the 10 brands. Huawei grew by 12% and Xiaomi grew by 9%. However, Samsung dropped by a massive 28%, which is quite concerning. The growth in the China market was led by Huawei’s ecosystem push and government subsidies which encouraged upgrades.
Interesting enough, Counterpoint claims that the rising memory prices which have affected phones will have limited impact on smartwatches.
“However, recent memory shortages and macro-economic factors are expected to slightly impact the overall growth rate for 2026. Even so, the effect is likely to be less severe than in other consumer electronics segments, supported by comparatively higher margins in premium smartwatches,” they said on the report.
