Xiaomi has reclaimed the top position in the global wearable band market for the first time since 2020, reflecting the success of its long-term ecosystem and volume-driven strategy. Apple was the #1 wearable band in 2024.
According to Omdia report, wearable shipments surpassed 200 million units in 2025, rising 6 percent year on year, with Xiaomi capturing 18 percent market share to emerge as the world’s largest wearable vendor by annual shipments.
The milestone marks a significant turnaround for Xiaomi, which has steadily rebuilt momentum in wearables through a disciplined multi-category approach. Rather than relying on a single flagship device, Xiaomi has strengthened its leadership in affordable fitness bands while expanding its presence in entry-level and mid-range smartwatches.
Leading brands in the wearable band market are: Xiaomi (18 percent), Apple (17 percent), Huawei (16 percent), Samsung (9 percent), Garmin (5 percent), and Others (35 percent) in 2025.
In 2024, leading brands in the global wearable band market were: Apple (18 percent), Xiaomi (15 percent), Huawei (14 percent), Samsung (8 percent), Garmin (4 percent), and Others (41 percent).
Volume leadership anchored in bands
Xiaomi’s wearable bands continue to serve as the foundation of its shipment growth. Positioned aggressively in the mass market, these devices combine competitive pricing with essential health and fitness tracking features. This strategy has allowed Xiaomi to defend share in emerging markets while maintaining strong sell-through in established regions.
The company’s scale advantage in components and manufacturing has helped it manage pricing pressure while preserving margins, even as hardware competition intensifies globally.
Moving up the value chain
Beyond bands, Xiaomi has been investing in basic smartwatches supported by in-house chip development and tighter integration across its device ecosystem. This cross-device connectivity, spanning smartphones, tablets, smart home products, and wearables, is reinforcing user stickiness and increasing the lifetime value of customers within its ecosystem.
The strategy signals Xiaomi’s ambition to gradually move up the value chain, balancing high-volume shipments with improved average selling prices and services-led monetization.
Ecosystem and AI as growth levers
The wearables market is shifting from a hardware-centric race to ecosystem-led competition. Xiaomi’s resurgence comes at a time when AI-powered health insights and subscription services are emerging as new growth engines. Continuous health monitoring, personalized coaching, and data-driven services are becoming central to user engagement, Omdia Research Manager Cynthia Chen said.
For Xiaomi, the ability to leverage its large installed base of wearable band users presents a strategic opportunity to layer AI features and recurring services on top of hardware sales. This transition could help mitigate margin pressure caused by rising component costs and intensifying competition.
Positioned for the next upgrade cycle
Looking ahead, modest single-digit growth is expected for the global wearables market in 2026, with smartwatches projected to deliver stronger momentum than bands. However, Xiaomi’s portfolio and scale position it well to capture demand across both entry-level and mid-tier segments.
As the industry increasingly rewards ecosystem depth, AI capability, and cross-device integration, Xiaomi’s structured expansion strategy has enabled it to reclaim the wearable band crown and reestablish itself as the volume leader in a tightly contested global market.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH
