According to the latest report from Counterpoint Research, in the second quarter of 2025, Huawei surpassed Apple for the first time with a 21% share of the global smartwatch market compared to Apple’s 17%, ending the latter’s nearly seven-year dominance in this field. This milestone is backed by Huawei’s systematic breakthroughs in technology, product strategy, and market layout, while also revealing the innovation bottlenecks faced by Apple. The following is a multi-dimensional analysis of this industry shift:
1. Core Drivers Behind Huawei’s Ascendancy
1. Pyramid Product Matrix Covering All Consumer Levels
High-end flagship: The WATCH Ultimate series (priced at 2699-3999 yuan) focuses on professional features such as Beidou satellite messaging and 100-meter water resistance certification, with prices dropping to 2295 yuan after national subsidies, enhancing cost-effectiveness.
Mid-range market: The WATCH GT series (priced at 699-2488 yuan) has become a bestseller with 14 days of battery life and a price point around 1000 yuan, while the FIT series (9.3mm ultra-thin body + 3000 nit screen) attracts younger users, with the youth demographic accounting for over 60%.
Entry-level market: Bands and children’s watches (priced at 209-999 yuan) penetrate third and fourth-tier cities, covering over 30,000 stores through the “Thousand Counties, Ten Thousand Stores” plan, contributing over 75% of domestic shipments.
2. Technological Innovation Building Differentiation Barriers
Health management ecosystem: The WATCH 5 series is equipped with the Xuanji sensing system, completing 17 health indicators in 3 seconds. Functions such as ECG and sleep apnea screening have been certified by the Chinese National Medical Products Administration, while similar features from Apple remain restricted in the domestic market.
Communication and interaction breakthroughs: The Star Flash technology reduces data transmission latency from Bluetooth 50ms to 5ms, applicable in scenarios such as drone control; the X-TAP smart window supports dynamic monitoring of blood pressure and blood oxygen, with automatic warnings in high-altitude scenarios.
Multi-device collaboration ecosystem: The HarmonyOS opens APIs to attract over 100,000 developers, integrating over 2000 applications (such as vehicle control and health), making it more suitable for Chinese user needs compared to Apple’s closed WatchOS ecosystem.
3. Globalization and Channel Deepening
The domestic market contributes over 75% of shipments, while expanding global users through regions like Europe and the Middle East, with the overseas business gradually increasing its share.
In contrast to Apple’s reliance on direct stores in first-tier cities, Huawei’s offline network penetrates county-level markets, forming a channel moat.
2. Apple’s Dilemmas and Challenges
1. Product Iteration Stagnation and Feature Reduction
Continuous decline in shipments for seven consecutive quarters (18% year-on-year drop in Q2 2025), with the SE series not updated for over two years and the Ultra series high-end share shrinking by 8%.
Domestic version feature limitations: Sleep apnea monitoring is limited to high-priced models, and ECG functionality requires unlocking for use, creating a gap compared to Huawei’s full price coverage.
2. Coexistence of Ecological Advantages and Experience Shortcomings
Advantages: The number of WatchOS applications exceeds 50,000, covering professional fields such as finance and healthcare, with smoothness and multi-device interaction still leading.
Shortcomings: Battery life is only 18 hours (SE series), material downgrade (Series 10 uses aluminum alloy back), and fast charging functionality has regressed due to policy restrictions.
3. Future Competition Key Points
1. Challenges for Huawei
High-end market breakthrough: Apple still holds a 70% share in the price range above $600, and Huawei needs to continuously strengthen the professionalism and brand premium of the Ultra series.
Ecological richness: The number of applications and developer ecosystem still lags behind Apple, needing to attract more vertical field applications.
2. Opportunities for Apple’s Counterattack
New product strategy: Apple may launch the Apple Watch Ultra3 (enhanced satellite communication) and SE3 (new sleep monitoring) in September, regaining market attention through functional enhancements.
Technological catch-up: Apple needs to accelerate the localization adaptation of health functions, resolve the domestic version’s feature limitations, and explore innovations such as flexible screens and non-invasive blood glucose monitoring.
4. Industry Impact and Trends
The dominant position of the Chinese market is highlighted: Over 75% of Huawei’s shipments rely on the domestic market, reflecting the high demand from Chinese consumers for health monitoring and long battery life, forcing manufacturers to innovate locally.
Competition in technical standards is escalating: Chinese independent technologies such as Star Flash and Sunflower positioning systems are beginning to influence global standard-setting, and Apple may face pressure to “de-Americanize” its supply chain.
Intense competition in niche markets: Children’s watches (such as Xiaotiancai) and medical-grade devices (such as Huawei WATCH D) will become the next battleground.
Conclusion
Huawei’s first ascent to the top marks the entry of the global smartwatch market into an era of “multi-polar competition.” Its success stems from precise insights into local demand, full price coverage of products, and technological independence, while Apple’s dilemmas expose the dual contradictions of innovation fatigue and ecological closure. In the future, the competition between the two in new product features, ecological expansion, and globalization strategies will reshape the industry landscape.