Wearable Sales Evolution: Garmin Poised to Overtake Samsung

Global wearable sales have been a closely watched market, with Apple dominating the landscape since its inception over a decade ago. Industry analysts and consumers alike have wondered if the Cupertino giant's supremacy would ever be challenged. While Huawei and Xiaomi have briefly taken the lead in shipments, removing low-cost smart bands with slim profit margins reveals Apple's impressive smartwatch industry dominance.

Wearable Sales Evolution: Garmin Poised to Overtake Samsung

However, one contender is quietly rising. A new PhoneArena poll suggests Garmin is set to overtake Samsung in the smartwatch market. This threat looks more serious when viewed in the context of Omdia's latest quarterly wearable sales report, which puts Garmin at the same market share as Samsung for Q2 2026 shipments, after a 6% gap between the two Apple rivals in Q2 last year.

The poll results are concerning for Samsung, with over 24% of respondents planning to buy a new Garmin smartwatch soon. This is higher than the number of PhoneArena readers who want a Samsung Galaxy Watch in the near future or an Apple Watch. The top answer should worry all smartwatch vendors, as an even higher number of respondents have no intention of getting a new smartwatch, being "happy with their current devices."

This could lead to a decline in global wearable sales if many consumers remain content with their existing devices. The evolving wearable sales landscape will be worth monitoring in the coming quarters.