Reality Of Made In India Smartwatches: Should You Trust boAt, Noise, and Fireboltt

As per IDC’s report, smartwatch sales grew 300% & fitness band sales dropped 63% in the last 12 months in India.

4 out of the top 5 watch companies are Indian and that’s HUGE. Their secret sauce? Low price, big AMOLED screen, & Bluetooth calling.

By seeing this you can clearly see why Indian brands like boAt, Fire-Boltt, Noise, Crossbeats, and Zebronics are selling more smartwatches than ever.

So let’s find out whether these Indian brands are actually selling Made In India Smartwatches or they’re importing everything from China and labeling their logo.

Does Indian Brands are Selling Made In India Smartwatches?

The answer is no, these Indian brands are importing 80% smartwatch components from Shenzhen, China. Brands like boAt, Fire-Boltt, Noise, Crossbeats and even Zebronics are importing almost everything from China and just adding their software on top of that.

Indian brands have a long way to go and they need to work on the software side of things because we have seen tons of software issues in boAt and even Noise smartwatches.

As you can see, how many Indian brands are importing smartwatch components and the cost of per unit?

Brands like Apple and Samsung are going with value whereas Indian brands are going with a numbers game and that’s the main reason why we’re getting cheaper smartwatches from boAt, Noise, and many other Indian brands.

All in all, it’s impossible to make Made in India smartwatches for Indian Brands because these brands need to invest crores of money in R&D, and hire thousands of people to manufacture components which is hard for new brands.

Related: 5 Best Smartwatches Under Rs 3000

Brands like boAt or even Noise won’t take such a big step in the early stage, they’re not as big as Samsung or Apple.

They need to grow big and after that, they might think to manufacture everything in India till then if you’re using boAt, Fire-Boltt, Noise, Crossbeats, and even Zebronics smartwatches then it’s not made in India, its Made in China.

Imported vs Assembled vs Manufactured in India

Even smartphone makers are importing parts like batteries from Chine because as of now, it’s a bit hard to make these kinds of components in India.

It’s the same thing, if you’re getting Rs 1000 off on Amazon then you won’t buy smartphones from local stores, the same thing applies to the brands, if they’re getting cheaper components from China then they won’t buy from India.

Difference between Imported vs Assembled vs Manufactured in India

Imported:

For example, boAt is buying thousands of smartwatches from china, they’re not doing anything, just bought a watch from China, installed their software, and listed it on Amazon, this is called importing.

Assembled:

For example, boAt is getting everything from Display, battery, and even smartwatch body from China, now they hired an Indian Manufacturing company, and said, these are all the smartwatch components and make smartwatch out of it. This means boAt is importing components from China but Assembling in India.

Manufactured in India:

For Example, boAt is making every component from Display, battery, and even the smartwatch body in India, they’re not buying anything from anywhere. This can be called Made in India or Manufactured in India.

Related: 5 Best Smartwatches Under Rs 5000

Yet, we don’t have many brands that Manufacture all the components in India, they will import one or two components from China because they’re getting them at a cheaper price, for example, batteries.

You also have to understand that, new brands don’t have enough money to Manufacture in India, they won’t take that huge risk, they will first test the market, make enough money and after that, they might Manufacture in India.

How to Find Your Smartwatch’s Real Manufacturer?

In recent times Indian Government has made some rules and regulations and thanks to them, every brand needs to label the Country of Origin on the product page or even on the product box.

Product Page: If you’re buying a smartwatch from Amazon then scroll down to the Product information and see the Country of Origin and Manufacturer. In the case of boAt, its china, and the Manufacturer‎ is Imagine Marketing Ltd which is boAt’s parent company.

Smartwatch Box: When you buy a smartwatch, check the smartwatch box, it will have all the information from the Manufacturer, the Importer, and the Marketer. Now, most Indian brands are marketing that they’re making all the smartwatches in India, and it’s Made in India however, the origin of the country will be China or any other country.

Conclusion

That was it, as I have said, we’re yet to find a brand that is truly making Made In India smartwatch, for now, if you’re using an Indian smartwatch then there is a chance its made in china but they’re marketing as Made in India because its sales more watch.

In short, don’t fall for Made In India Marketing, buy a smartwatch that provides value because you’re paying your own money, so you should get the best product regardless of the origin country.