The smartwatch world just saw a big shake-up. Huawei, a tech giant from China, officially grabbed the top spot. They pushed Apple down to second place in the global market. This happened during the second quarter of 2025, from April to June.
This shift comes as good news for the smartwatch industry. Global sales climbed by 8% compared to the same time last year. This is a welcome change. The market had actually shown no growth at all since the first quarter of 2024.
Counterpoint Research, a global firm studying tech markets, sees China’s market recovery as key. This pickup in demand is a main reason for Huawei’s success. It helped Huawei boost its worldwide sales by an impressive 52%. This gives them 21% of the entire market.
Other Chinese brands also played a major part in this trend. Xiaomi saw its sales jump by 38%. Imoo, known for smartwatches made for kids, had a 21% increase in sales. These strong performances mean China now holds a big 38% share of the global smartwatch market.
The United States follows with 28% of the market. Europe comes in third, making up 20% of global smartwatch sales.
Meanwhile, global tech leaders Apple and Samsung faced a small dip. Their worldwide sales each dropped by 3%. Even with this dip, Apple from the US still holds the second-highest market share globally. Samsung is a major player from South Korea.
Looking ahead, Counterpoint Research analysts believe the global smartwatch market will keep getting stronger through 2025. They expect it to grow by another 7%. Both Apple and Samsung are likely to see their sales rise. They plan to release new smartwatch models in the third quarter of 2025. That period runs from July to September.