China’s Little Genius smartwatch for kids overtakes Apple Watch in home market thanks to features such as remote body temperature alerts

A Chinese smartwatch brand that targets kids aged from four to 15 has overtaken Apple Watch to become the second top selling brand in China, according to new market research.

Imoo, widely known in China as “Little Genius”, accounted for 21 per cent of the country’s smartwatch market in the second quarter, surpassing Apple to rank second, only behind smartphone giant Huawei Technologies, according to a report from research firm Counterpoint.

The brand benefited from the high demand in the first full back-to-school quarter after the pandemic lockdown was lifted in China, according to the report, which noted that multiple offline retail stores also contributed to its growth. Meanwhile, features such as remote notification to parents of abnormal body temperatures in their children have proven popular amid rising health awareness in the post-Covid era.

Other functions allowing parents to remotely monitor their children include real-time location tracking, which has proven helpful for parents needing to pick up their kids after school.

In the second quarter, China’s smartwatch shipments rose 5 per cent year on year, signalling a recovery that was “slightly better than we had predicted”, said Bai Shenghao, a senior analyst at Counterpoint. That marked a stark contrast with the 10 per cent year-on-year decrease in the same period in 2022, as consumer demand contracted due to Covid-19 lockdowns and negative economic growth, according to Counterpoint.

The Imoo watch brand was founded in 2010 by Chinese entrepreneur Jin Zhijiang, under Guangdong-based consumer electronics conglomerate BBK Electronics, which also gave rise to popular Chinese smartphone firms including Oppo and Vivo.

The first generation of the watch was launched in 2015, and has since gained wide popularity after introducing functions designed for school-age kids at relatively low prices.