Now, wearable cos bet on smart rings
Boat and Noise are chasing premium fitness enthusiasts with smart rings, a relatively new form factor of wearable that's smaller in size and can be worn at all times in a fresh bet on premiumisation on the back of its existing user base.
This even as they continue driving down average selling prices of smart watches and frenetically refreshing their portfolio to capture a larger pool of users.
«For the last three years, there were mostly first-time buyers, now people are educated about what wearable devices do, and we believe it's the right time to move to better devices,» said Noise co-founder Amit Khatri.
Co-founder Sameer Mehta said Boat has imported a small batch of 5,000 units for the first sale and is readying distribution, forecasting shipments of 50,000-100,000 units in the first year, depending on how people perceive its value proposition of enhanced wellness tracking.
«We have been experimenting with how big a market this can get, and the initial response has been great. There are a lot of users who are on their second watch, and this could be their third purchase,» Mehta said.
While Noise did not disclose exact numbers, co-founder Amit Khatri said they have stopped taking pre-orders for the product after receiving large volumes since opening for pre-orders.
The expansion into smart rings comes on the back of strong 53.3% on-year growth in wearables in the first half of 2023, according to IDC.
The smart ring market itself is expected to reach $747.41 million by 2030, according to a report by Contrive Datum Insights which said Asia Pacific is expected to maintain the largest market share in terms of both value and volume over the next few years.
The two brands differ in their distribution strategy. While Mehta
