India’s Wearable Market Shrinks down 4% YoY in 2025

The latest Indian wearable market report from International Data Corporation (IDC) has given us a good glimpse at how the wearable sector performed in the year 2025. It has crowned homegrown brand Boat as the MVP (Most Valuable Player), with a 29.2% market share and 1.4% Year on Year (YoY) growth.

India's Wearable Market Experienced Downturn in 2025

According to IDC’s India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker, India managed to ship an estimated 114.2 million units in 2025. However, despite that, the overall wearable market declined by 4%, making 2025 the second consecutive year of decline for the wearable market.

The only upward trajectory was in the average selling price (ASP) for wearables, which saw an increase to $20.3 (approximately Rs 1,900) at 1.8% YoY.

Image Credit: IDC

A major contributor to this fall is the smartwatch category, which fell by 17.6% YoY with only 84.7 million units in 2025. This led to an overall market share shrinking to 25.3% from 29.4%. A major reason for this downward trend has been attributed to weaker demand for budget smartwatches in the country and a rise in the average ASP to Rs 1,900.

Along with smartwatches, a notable decline was seen in the TWS and neckband categories as well. The neckbands segment faced a 10.2% YoY decline, with earwear ASP declining by 1.1%. The one segment that surged massively is the over-ear headphones department. It saw a sharp 65.4% YoY increase in 2025 with 7.4 million units shipped.

Image Credit: IDC

Now, coming to brand performances, the two key players turned up in the form of Boat in the TWS, tethered audio, and over-the-ear headphones department and Realme in the TWS and smartwatch categories.

Among the two, Boat maintained its leadership position in the Indian wearable market with a commanding 29.2% YoY share in 2025. The brand led with 31.9% and 44.4% market share in the TWS and headphone categories, respectively.

Realme, on the other hand, managed to shoot ahead of the market contraction and post significant growth in 2025. It saw a 27.8% YoY growth with a 6.2% market share. It achieved the 5th spot in the TWS segment with 7.3% share and 26.3% YoY growth.

Image Credit: Realme

Moreover, thanks to Realme's "Make in India" initiative, the brand has been manufacturing some of its popular wearable devices within India in partnership with Optiemus Electronics Ltd. Some of the noteworthy products include Realme Buds Air 8, Realme Buds Clip and several Realme smartwatches.

Aside from that, the report also highlights the growth of offline wearable market and emergence of new categories like smart glasses, smart writbands and smart rings. While offline sales as of 2025, contribute to 40.7% of total sales, players like Lenskart and Fire-Boltt have managed to emerge and enter the smart wearable category.

That said, for 2026, the market projections lean heavily towards AI-driven products and new categories like smart glasses and smart rings. Senior Market Analyst for Smart Wearable Devices at IDC India, Vikas Sharma, has noted that “personalised spatial sound” and “ergonomic open-ear designs” will be the key selling points of wearables in India in 2026.