Smartwatch statistics span two overlapping measures: dedicated smartwatch shipments and broader wearable-device use. Global forecasts describe market scale, while US surveys show adoption, engagement and health-data practices among populations that may include smartwatches, fitness trackers and other devices.
Key Smartwatch Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2024, 156.5 million smartwatches were forecast to ship worldwide.
- In 2024, worldwide smartwatch shipments were forecast to decline 3.0% year over year.
- In 2028, 175.2 million smartwatch shipments were forecast worldwide.
- From 2024 through 2028, worldwide smartwatch shipments were forecast to grow at a 2.9% compound annual rate.
- In 2024, smartwatch average selling prices were expected to rise 5.7% worldwide.
- In 2024, global smartwatch shipments fell 7% year over year according to Counterpoint’s tracker.
- US wearable-device use rose from 30.2% of community-dwelling adults in 2020 to 41.1% in 2024.
- In 2019, about 30% of US adults used wearable health-care devices, including 1,266 of 4,551 respondents.
- In 2019–2020, 72 million US adults used wearable devices, or about one-third of adults.
- From 2020 through 2024, approximately one-half of US wearable users reported daily use.
- In 2019–2020, 49% of US wearable users reported using their device every day.
- In 2024, 73.4% of US wearable users were willing to share data with clinicians.
- In 2024, 19.2% of US wearable users reported actual clinician-directed data sharing.
- In 2019–2020, 82% of US wearable users were willing to share data with a physician, representing an estimated 57.5 million adults.
- In a pooled 2020–2024 US analysis, 62.3% of wearable users had cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular risk factors.
- In a studied adult population, 28% used wearable technology supporting activity, well-being or a healthy lifestyle.
- In a 2019 US survey, higher technology self-efficacy was associated with wearable adoption at an odds ratio of 1.33.
- Apple reported $37.005 billion in FY2024 Wearables, Home and Accessories net sales, a mixed segment rather than Apple Watch revenue alone.
Contents
- Global smartwatch shipments, growth and forecasts
- US smartwatch adoption and wearable use
- Smartwatch usage frequency and engagement
- Health-data sharing and clinical relevance
- Adoption differences by age, health and demographics
- Market context, pricing and company-scale measures
Global Smartwatch Shipments, Growth and Forecasts
IDC’s September 2024 forecast provides a forward-looking view of dedicated smartwatch shipments. It forecast 156.5 million worldwide units in 2024, a 3.0% year-over-year decline, followed by 175.2 million units in 2028 and 1.5% growth in 2028.
IDC Forecasts Continued Growth for Wearables But Growth Will Be Uneven Across Product Categories labels these figures as tracker forecasts, not audited sell-through.
| Worldwide measure | 2024 | 2028 | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smartwatch shipments | 156.5 million forecast | 175.2 million forecast | Smartwatches only |
| Year-over-year growth | -3.0% forecast | 1.5% forecast | Annual category growth |
| Total wearable shipments | 537.9 million forecast | 612.5 million forecast | All wearable categories |
IDC forecast a 2.9% compound annual growth rate for smartwatches from 2024 through 2028. It also expected smartwatch average selling prices to rise 5.7% in 2024, while its worldwide-excluding-India growth context was 9.9%; that exclusion changes the population and is not comparable with the worldwide series.
The broader wearable-device forecast was 537.9 million units worldwide in 2024 and 612.5 million in 2028. Those totals include all wearable categories, so they should not be read as smartwatch shipment counts.
A later Counterpoint Research tracker reported that global smartwatch shipments fell 7% year over year in 2024, describing the market’s first decline. The Counterpoint estimate and IDC forecast use different research-firm tracker frameworks and timing, so they are not directly interchangeable.
Global Smartwatch Shipments in 2024: Market Declines for First Time, China Leads for First Time is the supplied source for the observed tracker result.
US Smartwatch Adoption and Wearable Use Statistics
US population surveys generally measure wearable devices rather than smartwatches alone. The 2020–2024 HINTS analysis covered community-dwelling US adults and found wearable-device use increased from 30.2% in 2020 to 41.1% in 2024.
Wearable Devices and Data Sharing in the US reports 95% confidence intervals of 27.6%–32.7% for the 2020 estimate and 39.0%–43.2% for 2024. The weighted HINTS populations represented about 254 million US adults in 2020, 258 million in 2022 and 262 million in 2024; these are represented populations, not device counts.
Other studies illustrate why adoption figures vary with wording and sample definition:
- A January–April 2019 HINTS study found about 30% of US adults used wearable health-care devices, based on 1,266 of 4,551 respondents.
- A 2020–2022 US survey study reported that about one in five Americans used a smartwatch or fitness tracker.
- PLOS research found 28% of 6,034 adults used wearable technology supporting activity, well-being or a healthy lifestyle, with a 95% confidence interval of 26.3%–29.8%.
- A JAMA study estimated 72 million US adults used wearable devices in 2019–2020, or about one-third of adults.
The 2019 HINTS findings come from Patterns of Use and Key Predictors for the Use of Wearable Health Care Devices by US Adults: Insights from a National Survey, while the broader population findings come from Factors associated with use of wearable technology to support activity, well-being, or a healthy lifestyle in the adult population and among older adults and the JAMA study Use of Wearable Devices in Individuals With or at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease in the US, 2019 to 2020.
Smartwatch Usage Frequency and Engagement Data
Adoption does not mean continuous use. In the 2020–2024 HINTS analysis, approximately one-half of wearable users reported daily use, while the 2019–2020 JAMA study measured 49% daily use among all US wearable users, with a 95% confidence interval of 45%–53%.
The 2019–2020 study also separates cardiovascular groups from the overall user population:
- 38% of wearable users with cardiovascular disease reported daily use.
- 48% of wearable users at risk for cardiovascular disease reported daily use.
- 12% of all US wearable users had not used their device in the preceding month.
- 25% of users with cardiovascular disease had not used their device in the preceding month.
- 13% of users at cardiovascular risk had not used their device in the preceding month.
The January–April 2019 HINTS study reported 47.33% daily use among wearable-health-device users. It also estimated weighted willingness to share health data at 82.38%, but willingness is not the same as actual sharing.
These measures are self-reported, use different HINTS cycles and define devices broadly. They describe engagement with wearable devices, not a smartwatch-only retention rate.
Smartwatch Health-Data Sharing and Clinical Relevance
The gap between willingness and actual data transfer is substantial. In the 2020–2024 HINTS analysis, willingness among US wearable users to share data with clinicians declined from 81.3% in 2020 to 73.4% in 2024, while actual clinician-directed sharing rose from 14.2% to 19.2%.
| US wearable-user measure | 2020 | 2024 | 95% confidence interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willing to share with clinicians | 81.3% | 73.4% | 77.1%–85.5%; 70.7%–76.2% |
| Actual clinician-directed sharing | 14.2% | 19.2% | 12.4%–16.0%; 17.7%–20.6% |
The source, Wearable Devices and Data Sharing in the US, measures self-reported willingness and sharing among wearable users, not smartwatch-only transfers.
The 2019–2020 cardiovascular study found 82% of US wearable users were willing to share data with a physician, representing an estimated 57.5 million adults. Within that study, willingness was 83% among wearable users with cardiovascular disease, representing 2.9 million adults, and 81% among users at cardiovascular risk, representing 27.3 million adults.
The pooled 2020–2024 wearable-user sample had a weighted mean age of 48.7 years; 55.3% were women, and 62.3% had cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular risk factors. The study’s risk-factor definition applies, and the figures do not establish that smartwatch data improved clinical outcomes.
Smartwatch Adoption Differences by Age, Health and Demographics
PLOS research found wearable-technology use decreased after age 54 in its studied adult population. Its related independent-living technology measure was 1.4% among adults aged 20–99, based on 85 of 6,034 respondents, and 1.7% among adults aged 65–99, based on 30 of 1,744; this narrower measure is not smartwatch adoption.
The same PLOS analysis reported associations rather than causal effects:
- Married or partnered adults used wearable technology 1.96 times as often as single adults.
- Adults meeting adequate weekly aerobic-activity levels used it 2.06 times as often as others.
- Adults who agreed that health-care e-services helped them take an active role used it 1.81 times as often as others.
The 2019 HINTS study reported subgroup percentages among groups most likely to report wearable-health-device use: 16.25% for women, 19.74% for White individuals, 19.52% for adults aged 18–50, 25.60% for people with some college education or college graduation, and 17.66% for annual household income above $75,000.
Its adjusted regression found adults over 50 had odds ratios from 0.46 to 0.57 versus adults aged 18–34. Other associations included feeling healthier at OR 1.17 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.98–1.39, reported overweight status at OR 1.16 with a 95% confidence interval of 1.06–1.27, enjoying exercise at OR 1.23 with a 95% confidence interval of 1.06–1.43, and higher technology self-efficacy at OR 1.33 with a 95% confidence interval of 1.21–1.46.
Smartwatch Market Context, Pricing and Company-Scale Measures
Company filings provide scale context but do not always isolate smartwatch revenue. Apple reported $37.005 billion in FY2024 Wearables, Home and Accessories net sales and $9.042 billion in the fourth quarter, while total FY2024 net sales were $391.035 billion.
| Apple FY2024 measure | Reported amount | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Wearables, Home and Accessories | $37.005 billion | Mixed segment, worldwide |
| Fourth-quarter Wearables, Home and Accessories | $9.042 billion | Mixed segment, worldwide |
| Total company net sales | $391.035 billion | Company-wide, worldwide |
Apple’s filed segment total fell by about $2.840 billion from FY2023 to FY2024, using the reported segment totals. That is a derived difference across a mixed segment and must not be presented as Apple Watch-only sales.
The figures come from Apple FY2024 Q4 Consolidated Financial Statements. Apple does not separately disclose Apple Watch revenue in the filing used here, so company-scale figures should remain distinct from smartwatch market revenue.