A new report from Counterpoint Research shows that while global smartwatch sales momentum continued to grow in 2026 (even as some consumers abandoned them), Samsung’s market share fell. While competitors like Apple saw substantial growth of 21% and some underappreciated smartwatch brands began to claim their own stake, Samsung’s smartwatch shipments in the first quarter of 2026 fell 28% year-over-year. That’s a pretty significant number in the wearable device space.
The report attributes much of the overall market growth to increasing adoption from China, as well as a greater global appetite for wearable devices with health tracking capabilities as well as advanced sleep tracking features. He is also optimistic about the future of the market. Counterpoint predicts that smartwatch shipments will continue to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3% through 2030. Despite these positives, Samsung has somehow managed to ship fewer wearables than last year, which is certainly a cause for concern.
Samsung’s difficulties
There are several reasons why Samsung’s Galaxy Watch line might struggle to keep up with the market. The first is that the South Korean manufacturer is facing increasing pressure from competing Chinese manufacturers, such as Huawei and Xiaomi. Another factor is the move towards more affordable options in major markets like India. Samsung’s position as a premium brand means it is losing ground to an Indian brand, Noise, a bootstrapped company (before significant investment from Bose and others) that carved out market share by selling feature-rich watches at prices well below those of Samsung or Apple.
Samsung also seems to have an inertia problem. The Galaxy Watch has been somewhat stagnant in terms of new features and has struggled to convince existing customers to upgrade. This is true both in terms of design and features, as well as in terms of hardware. The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2025 update, for example, kept the same chip (the Exynos W1000) as the previous version. Samsung is stuck on both sides: Cheaper competitors appeal to budget-conscious buyers, while its own premium line hasn’t differentiated itself enough to push users to upgrade.
