As Samsung’s smartwatch market share drops, more than ever is riding on the Galaxy Watch 8

Today may be a holiday here in the US, but for mobile tech fans, the big celebration is still a few days away. Next Wednesday, on July 9, Samsung hosts its latest Unpacked event in New York City, where the company is expected to introduce not just its latest lineup of foldable phones, but also debut the Galaxy Watch 8 series. With a new “squircle” design defining the hardware, Samsung needs to convince shoppers this is a move in the right direction. And based on the latest market report, getting a win this year may be more important than ever.

Apple dominates the smartwatch market, and while that doesn’t look like it’s changing anytime soon, there’s been much more motion when it comes to the players vying for the next few top spots.

A few months back, we looked at a report comparing the smartwatch market in 2023 with 2024. While Samsung was more or less treading water, we saw major growth from both Huawei and Xiaomi, with the former solidifying its second-place status right below Apple, and the latter starting to look like it might soon surpass Samsung.

This week, Counterpoint is back with its latest market analysis, and it’s even more bad news for Samsung:

That Chinese competition continues to show big gains while Samsung’s position only continues to weaken, and across Q1 the company soundly found itself relegated to a fourth-place position.

The situation for Samsung starts feeling even more perilous when we look at where sales are coming from:

It’s concerning enough that total shipments are on the decline, but Samsung should be particularly worried about the shrinking market in Europe, and even more critically, North America. Meanwhile, sales in markets that typically prioritize more value-priced electronics are on the rise, which you’d think would suggest that Samsung and its premium Galaxy Watch lineup are at a pronounced disadvantage. Despite that, analysts report that sales in the $100–$200 bracket are on the rise, while the sub-$100 level is seeing losses.

While none of this is great to see, it’s also worth remembering that we’re talking specifically about Q1 with today’s data, which is basically the opposite side of the year from when Samsung introduces its new smartwatches — so, perhaps we should expect Samsung’s figures to be a little weak.

Regardless, we’re still very excited about this new crop of Galaxy Watch models, and you are not going to want to miss all of our coverage surrounding Unpacked next week.