全球智能手表的孪生发展，激发国内外主控芯片厂商的战斗力。
据潮电智库统计，2022年全球智能手表的出货量为2.28亿只，同比增长了12%。
潮电智库认为，在过去长达一年的激烈角逐，2023年全球智能手表主控芯片厂商的综合竞争力已公布于众，其出货量排名前十的企业分别有苹果、瑞昱、汇顶、紫光展锐、Nordic、三星、Ambiq、华为麒麟、昂瑞微和高通。
下面将从出货量、市场份额、产品结构、主要客户群体等综合竞争力的四大关键要素展开综述。
当供应链正常运行时，智能手表主控芯片出货量越大，其市占率也有所增长，进而反映企业对库存、出货量以及销售量的布局实力。
值得注意的是，十大智能手表主控芯片厂商在2023年全球市场的竞争格局相对明显。
从榜单上看，高端市场和中低端市场呈现两极分化，各有王者，分别是苹果和瑞昱，各自占有16%的市场份额。
“高端王者”是苹果，主控芯片仍旧自研自用，出货量排名第一，其市占率达16%。令人意外的是，瑞昱出货量排名第二，其市占率与苹果同样持有16%。由此可见，瑞昱在库存、出货量和销售量等方面的协调关系有较大的跳跃，不过苹果通过自研芯片所获取的利润总体上显然比瑞昱高。
事实上，苹果和瑞昱登上王者的宝座是有迹可循的。据潮电智库统计，在2022年3月排行榜上，苹果手表的主控芯片出货量有245万颗，瑞昱为270万颗；在同年7月份，苹果出了275万颗，瑞昱则出了250万颗。
目前来看，2022年苹果和瑞昱的市占率合计为32%。与之相比，其他单个芯片厂商的市占率不高，仅是个位数。据潮电智库统计，2022年汇顶、紫光展锐、Nordic、三星、Ambiq、华为麒麟、昂瑞微和高通的市占率分别是9%、7%、7%、7%、6%、5%、4%、4%。
整体上来看，苹果在智能手表主控芯片的综合竞争力“碾压”众多主控芯片厂商，拿下9.5分，而其他厂商的综合实力则有较大的上升空间，急需调整未来发展的战略思维，找准目标市场，攻破技术难关，提升竞争力。
产品结构细分为高端市场和低端市场，主要区别在于品牌、技术和价格三方面。
从榜单来看，2023年全球智能手表主控芯片市场有五大“高端玩家”，分别是苹果、三星、Ambiq、华为麒麟、高通，紫光展锐和Nordic在中高端市场显然杰出有名，而瑞昱、汇顶则在中低端市场受到欢迎，而以白牌为主要客户群体的企业独有昂瑞微。
这五大“高端玩家”的来头可不小，本身不仅有强大的品牌势力，其主控芯片也有强硬的技术实力。
苹果是美国芯片巨头，Apple Watch选用自研的S7芯片，保证Apple Watch的Retina屏幕以60帧的流畅速度进行刷新。高通在工艺上更精细化一些，其手表搭载的骁龙W5 Gen1和骁龙W5+Gen1芯片升级到最先进的4nm制程工艺，比苹果S7芯片减少3 nm。AmbiqMicro是美国一家物联网芯片设计公司，其Apollo4 Plus和Apollo4 Blue Plus搭载了低功耗蓝牙5.1射频功能，拥有强劲的计算能力以及存储能力，使得待机功耗最高可降低38倍。三星Galaxy Watch 4的主控芯片是自研的Exynos W920 5nm双核处理器芯片华为麒麟A1芯片实现了4.3mm x 4.4mm的"小巧尺寸"，可植入到任何小型可穿戴设备。
从中发现，苹果、三星和华为麒麟皆走在自研自用的大道上，这或将是他们在智能手表主控芯片上的发展方向。
而瑞昱在品牌势力和技术实力两方面可谓是比上不足比下有余。瑞昱在2020年底推出了8762D系列，最高可以实现480*480以下分辨率的AMOLED屏的驱动，它的8762系列产品目前在蓝牙运动手表市场上占据重要地位。
汇顶和瑞昱两家企业同台竞争，局面相当激烈。从潮电智库统计的出货量来看，瑞昱在3月份出了270万颗主控芯片，而汇顶相对落后，仅出48万颗，但在7月，汇顶紧紧跟着瑞昱的步伐，其芯片出货量破两百万，不过瑞昱以250万颗出货量胜出。
综合来看，全球智能手表主控芯片市场将从中低端往高端发展，以白牌为主要客户群体的独有昂瑞微，其主控芯片的出货量排名第九，市占率仅有4%。进一步看，白牌主控芯片的市场空间将有可能被品牌挤兑，甚至被中、高端主控芯片所替代。因此，技术转型和产品创新是未来智能手表主控芯片的两大发展重点 。
主要客户群是全球智能手表主控芯片综合竞争力的重要指标，在中、高端市场当中，优质的客户群将会带来潜在而长久的品牌联动效应。
不难发现的是，“高端玩家”的芯片玩法不是自研自用，就是服务大品牌客户。目前来看，高通的主控芯片主要应用在华为、OPPO等国内知名品牌智能手表上，而Ambiq主要为小米、OPPO和佳明等大品牌商服务。
据潮电智库统计，华为和苹果在2022年全球智能手表品牌占主导地位，合计份额近31%，其中华为占有10%的市场份额。究其原因，华为HLOS智能手表出货量在2022年翻了一番，推动华为实现9%的同比增长。此外，OPPO在 2022 年全球智能手表的市场份额增加到3%，实现了 105% 的同比增长，这得益于其新发布的 Watch 3 系列受到全球市场的青睐。
高通和Ambiq尽管出货量不大，但下游客户华为和OPPO在全球智能手表市场表现出色，成为其进入前十的有力背书。
事实上，紫光展锐和Nordic在主控芯片中高端市场的表现相对平衡，两者的芯片出货量和市占率皆位居榜首前五。紫光展锐的客户群体主要有小天才、华为和360等，而Nordic得主要客户群体是爱都科技，相比之下，前者客户群体比后者要大一些，其客户群的品牌势力也占优势。
庞大的客户群在智能手表主控芯片的中、低端市场将会带来长尾效应。根据潮电智库统计，含白牌在内，2022年印度智能手表总出货量超过六千万只，其中品牌端同比增长165%，并以22%的市占率超越北美成为全球最大智能手表市场。之所以瑞昱和汇顶出货量排在前三，是因为他们把目标市场定位在印度地区，使其出货量得到快速增长。
瑞昱在智能手表芯片出货量和市占率超越汇顶，主要得益于庞大客户群的差异性以及合作客户本有的品牌势力。汇顶的合作客户是Tata，而Tata是印度最大的的集团，其涉及的业务广泛，但在智能手表主控芯片的投入相对较少。瑞昱与Noise、boAt两家印度智能手表大品牌商合作，目前共占品牌市场份额超过七成，由此可见，瑞昱的客户群体比汇顶庞大而精准化。
小结综上所述，十大全球智能手表主控芯片厂商的战斗力十足，各显神通而榜上有名。
潮电智库预测，2023年和2024年全球智能手表的出货量预计趋向增长，预估2023年同比增长率为14%，到2024年出现最高的增长点，出货量预估高达3.4亿只，同比增长率达到35%。而主控芯片出货量将随着未来两年智能手表市场规模的扩大而而有所增长。
因此，各大主控芯片厂商在研发投入、目标市场和客户群体等方面需要进行精心布局，进而更好捕捉智能手表市场的增长点。
2023 Top 10 of Global Smartwatch Bluetooth master Chip companies
The development of global smart watches has stimulated the competitiveness of domestic and foreign master chip manufacturers.
According to Electrend, the global shipment volume of smart watches in 2022 was 228 million, an increase of 12% year-on-year.
Electrend believes that in the fierce competition that has lasted for a year, the comprehensive competitiveness of global smartwatch master chip manufacturers in 2023 has been announced to the public. The top ten companies in terms of shipment volume are Apple, Realtek, GOODIX, UNISOC, Nordic, Samsung, Ambiq, Huawei Qilin, Onmicro, and Qualcomm.
The following will provide an overview of the four key factors of comprehensive competitiveness, including shipment volume, market share, product structure, and main customer groups.
1、Shipping volume&market share
When the supply chain operates normally, the larger the shipment volume of smartwatch master chips, the more their market share also increases, which reflects the company's layout strength in inventory, shipment volume, and sales volume.
It is worth noting that the top ten smart watch master chip manufacturers have a relatively clear competitive landscape in the global market in 2023.
From the list, there is a polarization between the high-end market and the mid to low end market, with each havin its own king, namely Apple and Ruiyu, each holding 16% of the market share.
The 'king' is Apple, and the main control chip is still self-developed and used, ranking first in terms of shipment volume, with a market share of 16%. Surprisingly, Realtek ranks second in terms of shipment volume, with a market share of 16% similar to Apple's. From this, it can be seen that there has been a significant leap in the coordination relationship between Ruiyu in terms of inventory, shipment volume, and sales volume. However, overall, Apple's profits from self-developed chips are clearly higher than Realtek.
In fact, there are traces of Apple and Realtek ascending to the throne of kings. According to Electrend, in the March 2022 ranking, Apple Watch's main control chip shipment volume was 2.45 million, while Realtek had 2.7 million; In July of the same year, Apple produced 2.75 million, while Ruiyu produced 2.5 million.
At present, the total market share of Apple and Realtek in 2022 is 32%. Compared to other individual chip manufacturers, their market share is not high, only in single digits. According to Electrend, the market share of GOODIX, UNISOC, Nordic, Samsung, Ambiq, Huawei Kirin, Onmicro, and Qualcomm in 2022 were 9%, 7%, 7%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, and 4%, respectively.
Overall, Apple has "crushed" numerous manufacturers of smart watch control chips in terms of overall competitiveness, scoring 9.5 points. However, other manufacturers have significant room for improvement in their overall strength, and there is an urgent need to adjust their strategic thinking for future development, identify target markets, overcome technical difficulties, and enhance competitiveness.
2、product mix
The product structure is divided into high-end and low-end markets, with the main difference being in brand, technology, and price.
From the list, there are five "high-end players" in the global smart watch control chip market in 2023, namely Apple, Samsung, Ambiq, Huawei Kirin, Qualcomm. UNISOC and Nordic are clearly outstanding and well-known in the mid to high end market, while Ruiyu and Huiding are popular in the mid to low end market, while companies with white cards as their main customer group are exclusive to Angruiwei.
These five "high-end players" have a considerable background, not only havin strong brand power, but also havin strong technical strength in their main control chips.
Apple is an American chip giant, and the Apple Watch uses its self-developed S7 chip to ensure that the Retina screen of the Apple Watch refreshes smoothly at 60 frames. Qualcomm is more refined in terms of technology, and its watches are equipped with Snapdragon W5 Gen1 and Snapdragon W5+Gen1 chips that have been upgraded to the most advanced 4nm process technology, which is 3 nm less than Apple S7 chips. Ambiq is a chip design company for the Internet of Things in the United States. Its Apollo 4 Plus and Apollo 4 Blue Plus are equipped with low-power Bluetooth 5.1 RF function, which has strong computing power and storage capacity, allowing standby power consumption to be reduced up to 38 times. The main control chip of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is the self-developed Exynos W920 5nm dual core processor chip, the Huawei Kirin A1 chip, which achieves a "compact size" of 4.3mm x 4.4mm and can be implanted into any small wearable device.
It is found that Apple, Samsung, and Huawei Kirin are all on the path of self-developed and self used, which may be their development direction in the main control chip of smart watches.
However, Realtek's brand power and technical strength can be said to be insufficient compared to others. Ruiyu launched the 8762D series at the end of 2020, which can drive AMOLED screens with resolutions up to 480 * 480. Its 8762 series products currently occupy an important position in the Bluetooth sports watch market.
The competition between Huiding and Realtek on the same platform is quite fierce. According to the shipment volume calculated by Electrend, Realtek produced 2.7 million main control chips in March, while Huiding was relatively behind with only 480000. However, in July, Huiding closely followed Ruiyu's footsteps, with chip shipments exceeding 2 million. However, Realtek won with a shipment volume of 2.5 million.
Overall, the global smart watch master chip market will develop from the mid to low end to the high-end. The unique Onrywei, with white brand as the main customer group, ranks ninth in terms of master chip shipment volume and only has a market share of 4%. Furthermore, the market space for white brand main control chips may be squeezed by brands and even replaced by mid to high-end main control chips. Therefore, technological transformation and product innovation are the two major development priorities for future smart watch control chips.
3、Main customer groups
The main customer base is an important indicator of the comprehensive competitiveness of global smartwatch control chips. In the mid to high-end market, high-quality customer base will bring potential and long-term brand linkage effects.
It is not difficult to find that the chip gameplay of "high-end players" is either self-developed and self used, or serves large brand customers. At present, Qualcomm's main control chip is mainly used in domestic well-known brands such as Huawei and OPPO for smart watches, while Ambiq mainly serves major brands such as Xiaomi, OPPO, and Garmin.
According to Electrend, Huawei and Apple dominate the global smartwatch brands in 2022, with a total share of nearly 31%, with Huawei holding 10% of the market share. The reason for this is that Huawei's HLOS smartwatch shipments doubled in 2022, driving Huawei to achieve a 9% year-on-year growth. In addition, OPPO's global market share for smartwatches increased to 3% in 2022, achieving a year-on-year growth of 105%, thanks to its newly released Watch 3 series being favored by the global market.
Although Qualcomm and Ambiq have small shipments, downstream customers Huawei and OPPO have performed well in the global smartwatch market, becoming strong endorsements for them to enter the top ten.
In fact, the performance of UNISOC and Nordic in the high-end market of main control chips is relatively balanced, with both chip shipments and market share ranking in the top five. UNISOC's customer base mainly includes Okii, Huawei, and 360, while Nordic's main customer base is Aidu Technology. In contrast, the former has a larger customer base than the latter, and its brand power in the customer base also has an advantage.
The large customer base in the mid to low-end market of smart watch control chips will bring a long tail effect. According to the Electrend, the total shipment of smart watches in India, including white brands, exceeded 60 million in 2022, with a year-on-year increase of 165% in the brand end and surpassing North America with a market share of 22% to become the world's largest smart watch market. The reason why Realtek and GOODIX rank in the top three in terms of shipment volume is because they have positioned their target market in the Indian region, which has led to rapid growth in their shipment volume.
Realtek surpassed GOODIX in the shipment volume and market share of smart watch chips, mainly due to the differences in its large customer base and the inherent brand power of its cooperative customers. The cooperative client of GOODIX is Tata, which is the largest group in India and involves a wide range of businesses. However, the investment in smart watch control chips is relatively small. Realtek collaborates with two major Indian smartwatch brands, Noise and boAt, and currently holds over 70% of the brand's market share. This shows that Ruiyu's customer base is larger and more precise than Huiding's.
Summary
In summary, the top ten global smartwatch master chip manufacturers have strong combat capabilities, each exhibiting their unique abilities and making them on the list.
Electrend predicts that the global shipment volume of smart watches is expected to increase in 2023 and 2024, with an estimated year-on-year growth rate of 14% in 2023 and the highest growth point by 2024. The estimated shipment volume is as high as 340 million, with a year-on-year growth rate of 35%. The shipment volume of main control chips will increase with the expansion of the smart watch market in the next two years.
Therefore, major control chip manufacturers need to carefully layout their research and development investment, target markets, and customer groups in order to better capture the growth points of the smart watch market.
