As Expected, Wear OS Market Share Leaps Into Existence Thanks to Samsung

Google is likely readying its Christmas card list, with Samsung hopefully near the top, with data suggesting that it’s a safe assumption that Wear OS would be a distant memory if it wasn’t for the latest Galaxy Watches. Hate it or love it, Wear OS is very much alive and well thanks to Samsung.

According to data provided by Counterpoint Research, Wear OS smartwatch marketshare was at 4% in Q2, 2021. One quarter later, that number exploded to 17%, all thanks to the launch of the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. During that same period, Samsung is said to have achieved its, “highest quarterly shipments, narrowing the gap with Apple and reclaiming second place from Huawei.”

With competition heating up, Apple’s marketshare dropped to 22% for Q3, down from 28% the previous quarter.

Can Google and Samsung Continue this Success?

Ok, so Samsung and Google had a good smartwatch quarter. Big deal. Apple has been dominating the wearables market for years, so don’t go popping the bubbly bottles just yet. We want to see continued support and additional development resources put into Wear OS to make it better and keep it competitive. While it’s nice having new Wear OS devices, they’re far from perfect smartwatches. Apple Watches are still the top tier and it’s going to take a helluva lot of work to change that, if it ever will.

The last thing I want to see is Wear OS drift off into obscurity yet again because Google forgets about it or lets a third party (Qualcomm) screw everything up. We’ve seen it before, so I apologize if I’m not too optimistic that Wear OS will stick around. However, with more makers getting on that Wear OS boat, anything’s possible.

// Counterpoint Research