Move over, Apple: Little Genius smartwatches captivate millions of children in China
With their precise location-tracking features and kid-friendly ecosystem, Little Genius devices have captured a niche market
One recent Saturday afternoon in Shanghai, a 10-year-old girl – glasses perched on her nose, her pink T-shirt tucked into a purple skirt – led her parents into a Little Genius store. Returning to school after the summer break, she was eager for a new smartwatch and had only one brand in mind.
“We checked out Huawei and Xiaomi, but my daughter insisted on getting Little Genius,” the mother told the sales staff.
Known locally as Xiaotiancai and abroad as Imoo, Little Genius may be unfamiliar to most adult consumers in the global wrist-worn device market, dominated by giants like Apple, Samsung Electronics and Garmin. But in China, the brand has captured a niche market, driven by tech-savvy children and parents looking for an age-appropriate smartphone alternative.
In the second quarter of this year, Little Genius ranked fourth among smartwatch brands worldwide, grabbing 7 per cent of the market – ahead of Samsung, but behind Huawei, Apple and Xiaomi, according to Counterpoint Research.
In the children’s segment, however, Little Genius was unrivalled with more than 48 per cent of the global market share in the first half, up from over 27 per cent in 2021.
“It first meets parents’ core demand for safety – offering real-time location, voice and video calls,” said Bai Shenghao, a senior analyst at Counterpoint. “It also gives children their own social functions, with interfaces that match their tastes.”