Homegrown companies, including Noise — led the shipment share as the Indian wearables market saw 65.8 percent growth on year-over-year (YoY) basis in the first half of 2022 (1H22), as per a new report by International Data Corporation (IDC). The market research firm says that the Indian market saw shipment of 38 million units in 1H22 (January to June), which included wearables in the form of wristbands (or fitness bands), smartwatches, and earwear (TWS earphones). Boat led the TWS earphones shipments and Noise led the smartwatches shipments.

As per IDC’s India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker, out of the 38 million units, 23.9 million wearable devices were shipped in the second quarter of 2022 (April-June) — growing by 113 percent YoY. Apart from affordability, which was a key growth lever, the shipments in the Indian market were supported by new launches, discounts, and marketing. The overall average selling price (ASP) declined by 7.2 percent YoY in 2Q22.

“Brands continue to compete on lowering the price points which ensured a healthy growth in 1H22. In addition to the affordability, the features earlier available at mid/high price points such as Bluetooth calling, bigger screen sizes, and AMOLED displays are getting introduced at lower price points. This is attracting both first-time users and upgraders,“ said Upasana Joshi, Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India.

As per IDC, Watch-based wearables are still the fastest-growing category with shipments reaching 6.4 million units and registering a growth of 298.4 percent YoY in 2Q22. Basic watches dominated with 95.2 percent share and registered a growth of 306.4 percent annually in 2Q22. Wristbands’ growth declined by 63.0 percent YoY due to weaker demand. “Hearables accounted for 72.6 percent of the overall wearables category” with TWS earbuds now accounting for half of the ear wear shipments.

When it comes to company-wise highlights, Boat led with a 34.3 percent market share in 2Q22 with its focus on expansion of ear wear devices. Noise captured the second spot with an 11.5 percent market share and it regained its leadership in the watch-based wearables category with a 28.5 percent share in 2Q22. OnePlus finished third in the overall wearable category by heavily focusing on the ear wear category. The fourth and fifth spots were taken by Fire-Boltt and Realme.

“It is a proud moment for us, yet again, as we continue to assert leadership in the watch-based wearables category with a 28.5 percent share, to become the No. 1 smartwatch player in the space. It is a testament to the consumers’ trust in the brand and we are elated to have stood true to understanding the pulse of the nation. We will continue to strengthen our leadership in the segment and keep contributing to the growing ecosystem,” Amit Khatri, Co-Founder at Noise, said in a statement.

As per Navkendar Singh, Associate Vice President, Devices Research, IDC India, South Asia & ANZ, demand for wearables moved beyond urban centres by appealing to the aspirational consumers in smaller cities and towns. “As consumers look for exciting designs and a better feature set in a device complementing their smartphone, they are willing to experiment and spend on these devices,” Singh added. IDC forecasts record shipments of more than 90 million in 2022.

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Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro were launched earlier this month. While Samsung did not focus its attention towards the dimensions of the wearables, a YouTuber might have found that the South Korean company might have misrepresented the numbers about the thickness of the smartwatch. Not only Samsung, a lot of others, including Apple may have not given you the numbers that you actually needed to know. The YouTuber, however, says Fitbit is among the few that gives the correct dimensions of their wearables.

As per a video posted on YouTube channel DC Rainmaker, Samsung and Apple have given what we can call “flawed” information about the thickness of its recently-launched wearables, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. As per Samsung, the non-pro version measures 9.8mm thick and the Pro model is 10.5mm thick. However, when the YouTuber checked, the dimensions turned out to be 13.11mm and 15.07mm.

This certainly gives an impression that Samsung (and Apple) misrepresented the facts about the thickness. But it looks like they are not wrong either. When we hear that a smartwatch is “xyz”mm thick, we assume that it is the wearable’s ‘actual thickness’, which includes the thickness of the sensors. However, it turns out that Samsung and Apple measure the smartwatch’s thickness excluding the sensor.

The reason for this style/ type of measurement is not known, but the YouTuber notes that this could be due to the fact that the companies assume that the sensors on the back panel are ingress in our skin when we wear it. But that doesn’t change the actual thickness of the watch. It is also to be noted that Samsung does mention in the announcement that they have measured the thickness in excluding the sensor. (Well done, Samsung!)

The YouTuber checks the thickness again, this time without including the sensor, and finds the claims to be correct. Based on this cross-checking, it is safe to conclude that Samsung, and as a matter of fact, Apple have not misrepresented dimensions or provided flawed information. It’s just that they have a different criteria of measuring thickness which no one knows why. The companies may explain this in future or be more prominent in indicating their way of measuring thickness.

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Noise ColorFit Ultra 2 Buzz smartwatch was launched in India on Wednesday. The company says that it is the first smartwatch that it has launched in the country with both an AMOLED display and Bluetooth calling. It is also fitted with an inbuilt microphone and speaker to answer calls. Users can also reject or silence incoming calls directly from the smartwatch. It also features Always on Display (AOD) functionality that lets users keep track of the time, date, and steps count without tapping the screen or power button.

Noise ColorFit Ultra 2 Buzz price in India, availability

The Noise ColorFit Ultra 2 Buzz is available to purchase in India for a launch price of Rs. 3,499 via Amazon and gonoise.com. This Noise smartwatch comes in Champagne Grey, Jet Black, Olive Green, and Vintage Brown colours.

Noise ColorFit Ultra 2 Buzz specifications, features

This smartwatch sports a 1.78-inch AMOLED display with a 368×448 pixels resolution and 500 nits of brightness. Its AOD functionality allows users to check the time, date, and steps count without having to touch the screen or power button. The Noise ColorFit Ultra 2 Buzz supports Bluetooth v5.3 technology and allows users to receive, reject, and silent calls directly from the smartwatch.

It features an inbuilt speaker and microphone. Noise ColorFit Ultra 2 Buzz also allows users to make calls using a dial pad or access recent call logs to call their favourite contacts. The smartwatch packs a 290mAh battery that can provide up to seven days of backup (without AOD) and takes about two hours to be fully charged.

The Noise ColorFit Ultra 2 Buzz is equipped with an optical heart rate sensor and an SpO2 blood oxygen sensor. It comes with the Noise Health Suite that also includes female cycle tracking as well as stress and sleep monitoring. The smartwatch also includes 100 sports modes with an auto sports detection feature. It is designed to offer IP68-rated water resistance.

There are more features like quick reply, call and message notifications, alarms, reminders, remote camera/music control, find my phone, weather updates, and smart do-not-disturb. Users can also select from over 100 customisable watch faces. Its new UI and the smart widgets feature let users add quick shortcuts as well.

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