Apple Corners Nearly 90% Of Edge AI Smartwatch Market In Q1 2026

Apple commands nearly 90% of the Edge AI-capable smartwatch market, according to new data from Counterpoint Research's Global Smartwatch Shipments Tracker for the first quarter of 2026.

This dominance comes as Edge AI adoption across the broader smartwatch industry grew 70% year-on-year, reaching a 25% penetration rate during the quarter.

Point to note: Edge AI refers to artificial intelligence that runs directly on a device's chip instead of being processed on remote servers. On the Apple Watch, the onboard Neural Engine handles tasks such as recognising an irregular heartbeat or detecting a fall in real time, without first sending data to a paired iPhone or the cloud.

Counterpoint classifies a smartwatch as Edge AI-capable only when it has a neural engine or NPU built in, and at least one health, safety or interaction feature actually runs its inference on that chip rather than simply including the hardware.

Health and fitness monitoring remains the primary driver of Edge AI use on smartwatches. Blood pressure monitoring shipments doubled and sleep apnea detection tripled year-on-year, the data shows, with brands reportedly now targeting diabetes detection as their next feature.

Where Rivals Stand

Apple's lead dates back to 2023, when it introduced the S9 chip with a 4-core Neural Engine designed specifically for on-device machine learning in the Apple Watch.

Huawei matched this only in 2025, launching its Kirin W80 chip to power its "Celia" voice assistant locally. Qualcomm is entering the segment this year with its Snapdragon Wear Elite platform, while Google is reportedly developing its own Tensor-based wearable chip, though it has yet to ship, according to Counterpoint.

The research also pointed to a software-driven alternative to dedicated NPUs. Ambiq's Apollo platform runs AI inference on vector-core silicon using Arm's Helium extensions, rather than relying on purpose-built neural hardware.

This approach remains a niche compared to Apple's dedicated-chip strategy, the research firm said, but could eventually allow cheaper smartwatches to offer some Edge AI features without the silicon investment Apple has built into its devices over the years.