The market leader is desi brand boAt which maintained a commanding lead for 12 consecutive quarters, capturing 40 per cent of the India market.

Indian brands are making their mark when their sales are measured globally.

Says Canalys about global sales of wearables in the first three months of 2023: “The largest non-smartphone player, Fire Boltt, broke into the global top five vendors for the first time despite solely selling wearable bands in India. Its volume grew by a remarkable 198 per cent, driven by an extensive portfolio of competitively priced devices.”

So much for the numbers: Indians seem to prefer Indian brands because of aggressive pricing — TWS earbuds — the most popular category can be had for around Rs 1,000 — while multi-function health-cum-sports wristware cost Rs 3,000 or less.

But can low priced devices alone sustain India’s dominant position? 

Cynthia Chen cautions: “Relying solely on entry-level hardware will be insufficient to sustain strong volumes in the long term. To create upgrade opportunities, vendors must adapt to changing consumer demands for improved features and integrated device experiences.”

This is already happening:

A World-First Device

A Bengaluru-based tech start-up Muse Wearables, born out of the IIT Madras Incubation Cell, has developed a smart ring equipped with advanced health tracking and ‘on-the-go payments’ (contactless payments), in addition to cuff-less blood pressure measurement.

Called ‘Ring One’, it represents a breakthrough innovation in wearable technology and claims to be the world’s first device that combines health and payment features.

The product is set for launch on 27 September 2023 globally and on 25 October 2023, in India and the company’s website is taking pre-bookings.

With a simple wave of the palm, Ring One can complete payment transactions with ease.

Muse has partnered with some of the biggest payment networks including Mastercard, VISA and Rupay to make payments with the Ring accessible to everyone across the world. The payments will be live in India, USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, Singapore and U.A.E.

Healthwise the device measures heart rate, SpO2 (oxygen), blood pressure, skin temperature, heart rate variability and respiratory rate.

Recent Launches