Global smartwatch sales dropped for the first time since the introduction of the original Apple Watch in 2014. Here's what that means.

For the first time ever, global smartwatch shipments declined in 2024, with Apple experiencing its sharpest downturn yet.

Apple was also hit with sales and import bans in the US in late 2023 and early 2024 over a disputed patent regarding blood oxygen level monitoring - which Ms Jain says also contributed to lower sales figures in the first half of 2024.

However, for the first time ever, the global smartwatch market drops in terms of overall shipments, according to the latest figures by Counterpoint. According to Counterpoint Research’s latest Global Smartwatch Shipments Tracker,