Share of smartwatches worldwide 2018 and 2022, by operating system

The most used operating system by smartwatches worldwide is Apple’s watchOS, which is exclusively installed on the Apple Watch. The operating system held a 16.2 percent share of the overall wearables market in 2018 and this share is expected to grow by a further one percent over the coming years.

The big Apple

The Apple Watch is exclusively installed with watchOS: an operating system based on the iOS mobile operating system for the iPhone. The two systems share many similar features and as a result the choice of smartwatch for iPhone users is simple: Apple Watch. The fifth generation of the Apple Watch was released in September 2019 and comes pre-installed with watchOS 6. The new software enhances the Siri virtual assistant and introduces a new app to improve hearing health. Apple will hope sales of its smartwatch continue to increase revenue within its wearables, home, and accessories division.

The best of the rest in the OS market

Samsung have increased their share of shipments in the smartwatch market and look set to be the biggest competitor to Apple. Their smartwatches run using the operating system Tizen, which is compatible with Android smartphones and also pairs with Apple iPhones. Google’s Android OS dominates the global smartphone operating systems market, but its share of the smartwatch market is significantly smaller. Released as Android Wear in 2014, Google rebranded the software to Wear OS in 2018 to highlight the software’s ability to work with both Android and Apple smartphones. The operating system is currently running on smartwatches developed by companies including Fossil, Skagen, and Mobvoi.