Huawei led the global wearables market in the first quarter of 2025, shipping 10 million units and securing a 21.9% market share, according to a new report from IDC China.
This represents significant growth of 42.4% compared to Q1 2024, when the company shipped 7 million units and held a 17% market share. Xiaomi followed in second place with 8.7 million shipments and a 19% market share. Xiaomi recorded the largest year-on-year growth among the top players at 42.6%, increasing from 6.1 million shipments and a 14.7% market share in the same period last year.
Apple dropped to third position with 7 million shipments and a 15.5% market share. Despite the lower ranking, Apple still saw growth of 37.2% from its Q1 2024 performance of 5.1 million shipments and a 12.5% market share. Samsung ranked fourth, shipping 3.4 million units for a 7.5% market share. Unlike its competitors in the top five, Samsung experienced a sales decline of 5.7% year-on-year, down from 3.6 million shipments and an 8.8% market share in Q1 2024.
Rounding out the top five was Garmin, with 2.1 million shipments and a 4.7% market share. Garmin saw growth of 29.5% year-on-year from 1.6 million shipments and a 4% market share in Q1 2024. The overall global wearables market shipped 45.6 million units in Q1 2025, a 10.5% increase from the 41.2 million units shipped in Q1 2024. Smartwatches accounted for the majority of shipments at 34.81 million units, while smart bands contributed 10.76 million units.
The Chinese market was a significant driver of global growth, representing 17.62 million units shipped in Q1, a 37.6% year-on-year increase. China’s smartwatch market shipped 11.4 million units (up 25.3%), and its smart band market shipped 6.21 million units (up 67.9%). This growth in China is largely attributed to a national subsidy scheme by the Chinese government, which IDC predicts will contribute to a 36.9% higher full-year 2025 wristwear market compared to 2024.
