More Internet users are ditching traditional timepieces in favor of smartwatches that do everything from fitness tracking to answering calls, according to a platform that monitors the sales of these wearable devices.
Data from Watch Faces show that 22.5 percent of the world’s internet users now own smartwatches, translating into 1.2 billion people globally. This represents an increase of 9 percent from 2022, according to the Apple watch face platform.
It ranked the United Arab Emirates as the top user of smartwatches, with 33.4 percent of its internet users or 3.1 million people owning such devices.
The Czech Republic ranks second, with 31.6 percent of its internet users about 3 million people owning a smartwatch, followed by Hong Kong at 30.6 percent or an estimated 2.1 million smartwatch users.
In India, smartwatch adoption is estimated at 29.1 percent, or 201.4 million users, given the country’s population. Poland ranks fifth, with 28.8 percent of internet users, or around 10.6 million people, owning one.
The Philippines has a smartwatch adoption rate of 14.9 percent of internet users.
Internet users at 25 to 34 years old are the leading adopters of smartwatch technology, with 27.2 percent of females and 26.9 percent of males owning one.