For many years, Google's Wear OS was sitting stagnant. This was to the point that manufacturers were only using Wear OS for their smartwatches because nothing else was available. However, thanks to Galaxy Watch 4 and the strong reception, Wear OS has been given a new life as it has managed to come to second place when it comes to the market share of smartwatches sold in Q3 2021.
Wear OS Punches Back with an Impressive 17% Smartwatch Market Share Thanks to Galaxy Watch 4
Based on a report by Counterpoint Research, Wear OS managed to capture an impressive 17% of smartwatch shipments in Q3 2021. This is a massive jump from just 4% in the previous quarter. The apparent reason behind this drastic jump is that Wear OS is now powering Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4 series; even though it is heavily skinned, it still is an excellent offering.
The Galaxy Watch 4 made up nearly 60% of the smartwatch shipments in North America and Europe during Q3 2021, while Apple's share of the market dropped significantly in Q3 due to the delayed launch of the Apple Watch Series 7.
Thanks to the launch of the Galaxy Watch 4 series, Samsung achieved its highest quarterly shipments, narrowing the gap with Apple and reclaiming second place from Huawei. From this smartwatch series, Samsung has expanded its app ecosystem by using Android-based Wear OS instead of its Tizen. The brand has also broadened users’ range of choice by launching two models – basic and classic. The newly added body composition feature has also fetched a good response.
Additionally, the market share of Fitbit OS appears to have stayed the same during this time.
Of course, the future of Wear OS' growth in the smartwatch market cannot rely on Samsung alone. The report mentions that the future growth for the South Korean firm will require the company to bring more affordable models. The base Galaxy Watch 4 starts at $249, and in addition to that, Google will need to put Wear OS 3 in the hands of more partners for the Wear OS to become more competitive and go head to head with Apple.
Being an Android user, this is good news, and considering how I have been wanting a Wear OS-powered smartwatch for some time now, this seems like the most plausible reason to get one.
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