SammyGuru has affiliate and sponsored partnerships, we may earn a commission.
A new forecast from Smart Analytics Global (SAG) paints a mixed picture for Samsung in the global smartwatch market. The true smartwatch segment, which includes devices with apps and connectivity, grew 6% year on year in 2025. That sounds healthy, but things might slow down soon. The same report says it could shrink by 2% in 2026.
In 2025, Apple led the market with a 39% share by volume. Huawei came second with 27%, while Samsung took third place with a 12% share. That’s a decent position, but it’s not exactly close to the top. And it looks like things could shift a bit in 2026, based on early forecasts.
Samsung and Apple may see decline in smartwatch market in 2026, forecast says
In 2026, Apple will remain in the lead in the true smartwatch market with a 39% share. Meanwhile, Huawei and Samsung are expected to hold 31% and 12%, respectively. What’s interesting is that only Huawei is projected to post net positive growth, at 10% year on year, while Apple and Samsung are set to decline by 2% and 8% year on year.
“Users are increasingly moving away from entry-level basic bands and watches towards two directions: on one end, analog watches, driven by fashion, simplicity, and longer replacement cycles; on the other, higher-value smart devices, including true smartwatches and non-display fitness bands, which offer more advanced health tracking and differentiated use cases,” notes Abhilash Kumar, Lead Research Advisor at SAG.
That said, Samsung will likely unveil new Galaxy Watches alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy Z Wide Fold, and Galaxy Z Flip 8. The event could take place on July 22 in London.
For a change, Samsung might switch to a Snapdragon Wear Elite chipset in the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. That alone could bring a wave of upgrades. It could also be the company’s first 5G smartwatch, and the first to feature satellite connectivity and UWB support. Alongside the Ultra, Samsung is expected to debut the standard Galaxy Watch 9 as well. There’s still some time, though, and we’ll have to wait and see how the market responds.