Sales of smartwatches nearly double in one year with one category in particular trending strongly – DNA’s expert explains what features Finns look for in a watch right now

Sales of eSIM smartwatches equipped with a digital SIM card grew by as much as 21 per cent in the first quarter this year, as reported by market research institute GfK. DNA’s figures reveal, in turn, that sales of smartwatches nearly doubled between 2019 and 2020.

“Right now, we’re seeing a noticeable spike in sales new smartwatches with the eSIM feature. Many customers also want to upgrade their older smartwatches to a newer model with more versatile features. DNA’s sales data shows that in addition to eSIM capabilities, the most sought-after smartphone features right now include sleep and activity monitoring and stress tracking,” says Kamtsan.

According to Kamtsan, the increase in sales is due to the fact that people are increasingly interested in monitoring their body’s activity more closely and extensively.

“In the past, smartwatches were used to measure sleep quality, fitness and daily step counts, for example. Now, features like heart rate monitoring and oxygen saturation tracking have become increasingly popular,” Kamtsan adds.

Popular interest in health tracking technology on the rise

A survey commissioned by DNA on digital lifestyles also reveals that Finns are very interested in health tracking technology. More than half of respondents (57%) expressed interest in technology that could be used to monitor their body’s activities such as sleep, step count, nutrition and heart rate.

“Interest has grown considerably as in the previous year, this portion was 47 per cent of respondents. Customers’ interest in smartwatches in general has also increase as 30 per cent of respondents said they owned a smartwatch, compared with 21 per cent in the previous year’s survey,” says Kamtsan.

The survey’s results show that different health tracking apps are popular especially among young people, whose share has grown significantly in just one year.

“Among ages 16 to 24, the use of apps that measure fitness and health, such as different types of sports trackers, grew from 49 per cent to 57 per cent. Overall, 47 per cent of those surveyed reported that they use health and fitness tracking apps,” says Kamtsan.

Dual SIM cards with one subscription to become increasingly popular in the future

In Kamtsan’s view, people are interested in smartwatches because of their simplicity. During sports, for example, a smartphone is seen as unwieldy and difficult to carry around. At the same time, however, many want a smartwatch with features familiar from smartphones.

“Smartwatches free up our hands and make life easier. People don't want to look at a phone while doing sports but do want access to a smartphone’s features, such as the ability to make emergency calls and mobile connectivity. For this reason, more and more smartwatch users will opt for a Multi-SIM feature that allows a mobile phone subscription to function in two devices at the same time – either a phone and smartwatch or two different phones,” says Kamtsan.

“This eliminates the need to carry around a phone while out running, doing water sports or berry picking, for example, while still being able to connect to mobile,” he adds.

Most in-demand smartwatch features according to DNA (in no particular order):

• eSIM compatibility for mobile connectivity
• Sleep tracking
• Activity tracking
• Stress monitoring
• Sports features and custom profiles for each sport
• Design
• Battery life

Digitaaliset elämäntavat (digital lifestyles) survey

DNA has conducted a nationwide survey on digital lifestyles since 2017. The survey looks at how Finns use different digital services and how habits related to their use have evolved over the years. This year, a total of 1,007 people participated in the survey.

Further information for the media:

Cedric Kamtsan, Vice President, Mobile Business, DNA Plc, tel. +358 (0)44 906 2377, cedric.kamtsan@dna.fi 
DNA Corporate Communications, tel. +358 44 044 8000, communications@dna.fi