Apple Shipped 3.5M Watches in Q2 2018, 30% More Than Last Year

[OllyW]

You and me both. Wearing my Nomos as we speak.

Aside, I'd love to own an Apple Watch someday if it was slightly cheaper (~$150 might be my breaking point). I'd only want to use it for the HRM and maybe using it similarly to an iPod shuffle and stream it to my BT headphones when I work out.

I tried one for 18 months but I’m back to wearing my traditional watches again.

It’s not a bad product and worth trying but it’s not the one for me. Have a look at getting a second hand one, the used prices drop like a stone when the new models are released and you should be able to pick up a decent bargain.

 

[Williesleg]

Fantastic News!!!!

Love the new watch bands, Timmy Cook!

Gotta keep taking engineers off the thermal flow Mac project and put them on new watch bands, that's where the money's at!

 

[groadyho]

The apple watch is the 1 product that.could make me make the switch from android and pc.

 

[smoking monkey]

Indeed it was very difficult for me to not get the cellular enabled Series 3 when it launched finally in India a couple of months ago. I told myself, this was what I was waiting for from day 1. But no, at this point, I will take a little bit better battery life and perhaps slightly larger screen and get that model when it finally launches. It helps that the watch is not something I am now used to wearing, after losing my regular watch to an accident a decade ago.

Series 4 it is for me! (or whichever with larger screen, thinner bezels, better battery and of course LTE)

You've done the right thing, although I got the LTE in March and have really loved it. It's fantastic for swimming and has changed how I do laps. It's also far more convenient than I expected it to be.

The larger screen at basically the same size is definitely the stand out, up coming feature. The large bezels sometime annoy me on my S3. I won't upgrade just for that, but I do think it will make a significant difference in using the watch.

 

[Naraxus]

Aside from the numbers, It’s actually interesting, because in 2015 when the Apple Watch initially launched, I thought I was one only one of few that actually had one in public. I was on vacation two weeks ago and in the airport, at the resort, on the beach, I saw Apple Watches everywhere, including male and female wearing them. When you factor in the popularity of iPhone, obviously the Apple Watch is the most obvious choice, but it meshes so well with the iOS ecosystem and now with LTE, I don’t even need to have my phone on with me at all times either. It can only Improve from here with additional health sensors and battery life.

Unfortunately one place I've seen a lot of them are in emergency rooms. Quite a few of the nurses have them. Most speak pretty highly of it.

And I say unfortunately because I've been on the receiving end of those nurses. Not unfortunate that I see AW's

 

[DamoTheBrave]

When the original came out many analysts said that it would be the third edition before it came into its own and I think they were quite right. This September's release should be very interesting though.

 

[The Game 161]

Love mine

No surprises it’s selling like crazy

 

[PickUrPoison]

When the original came out many analysts said that it would be the third edition before it came into its own and I think they were quite right. This September's release should be very interesting though.

Yeah, Apple doesn’t like to release too early, but they do like to get it out there when they think they have a compelling product that’s good enough.

Apple’s “good enough” is often pretty great but by the third iteration you get the feeling, this is the product they would liked to have had at the introduction. But you have to start somewhere!

 

[ErikGrim]

Maybe, but I don't think Apple intends to grow the AW into a huge platform. It's main purpose is to be indispensable enough to keep users locked into purchasing iPhones.

The iPod was at a huge disadvantage being locked to the Mac platform, which was at about 5% of the market when it was launched. iOS, with a billion active devices, has no such disadvantage.

 

[FelixDerKater]

Series 3 is a win. Sales show it.

 

[macintoshmac]

Unfortunately one place I've seen a lot of them are in emergency rooms. Quite a few of the nurses have them. Most speak pretty highly of it.

And I say unfortunately because I've been on the receiving end of those nurses. Not unfortunate that I see AW's

Indeed, it is unfortunate for the nurse if one feels highly of seeing a watch versus seeing a nurse.

But, yes, be more careful. Emergency is not a happy place to be, at all.

 

[Abazigal]

Maybe, but I don't think Apple intends to grow the AW into a huge platform. It's main purpose is to be indispensable enough to keep users locked into purchasing iPhones. Simple things like activity rings appeal to people's OCD tendencies. As one updates their AW to the latest wOS (to gain features), they'll reach a point where they'll need to update their iPhone to a newer model. Then they'll update their AW to a newer model to gain new features that are unavailable on their current AW.

It's a vicious cycle. As people hold onto their iPhones longer and longer, Apple needs to have ways to get them to upgrade their phones. If they buy and upgrade their watches too, that's a bonus.

I wonder if anyone outside of Apple has investigated the iPhone upgrading tendencies of AW users vs. non-AW users. It would be very interesting. I would imagine that AW users stay on iOS at a higher rate as well as upgrading their iPhones at a higher rate as well. I wouldn't be surprised if AW users buy the higher end model of iPhones at a higher rate as well.

For now.

I think Apple realises the same thing you are - that people are holding on to their phones longer (iOS 12 appears to be an acknowledgement of that with its focus on performance enhancements for older devices).

For now, they are content for the Apple Watch to stay an expensive accessory for the iPhone, but there will come a time when Apple has to move beyond the iPhone. That will likely still be a few years away, but when this day does come, we may see Apple finally release an Apple Watch that is independent of the iPhone.

My guess is that the Apple Watch will form the “brains” of an ecosystem of health-tracking wearables. Who knows, we might even be able to pair the Apple glasses to the watch the same way we pair the watch to the iPhone now?

I guess it’s not so much a question of if but when.

 

[macintoshmac]

Apple’s “good enough” is often pretty great but by the third iteration you get the feeling, this is the product they would liked to have had at the introduction. But you have to start somewhere!

Lately, observing the iPhones, I have had a feeling that they love to go incremental. Of course it helps the bottom line, making people upgrade by adding 'just enough' but I do think that if they go on a biennial cycle of hardware releases, the customers might be seriously happier.

Case in point: I did not buy the iPhone 7, because I knew they will eventually add True Tone to it. They should have done it, but they held back. Admittedly I do not _know_ if they really could not, but Apple used to bring seriously loaded hardware, but with the iPhones being on a yearly cycle, they have had little incentive, and personally, I do not like the approach.

They gave a DCI-P3 display on the 7 (IIRC) but just not True Tone. To me, their incremental update mindset was really clear with that. On the other hand, the 8 is what the 7 could have been, minus the wireless charging and A11 of course.

With the watch, they were in new territory and while I have not followed the watch very carefully, but all upgrades to the watch have seemed to be really, really good. Series 3 is really loaded at the moment and there is no reason not to buy one now if one needs it now. I do not need it but instead want it, so I am hopeful of curtailing my wallet back until I see the impending design refresh.

 

[a.gomez]

Well they sell them at WALMART now. The person who sells me my morning Coffee and bagel owns one.

At least people are starting to stop using this nonsense with a Suit. A made in Taiwan Gadget watch with Italian Wool - Lovely!

 

[macintoshmac]

Well they sell them at WALMART now. The person who sells me my morning Coffee and bagel owns one.

At least people are starting to stop using this nonsense with a Suit. A made in Taiwan Gadget watch with Italian Wool - Lovely!

But that's the thing with an Apple Watch, it manages to look great in any setting. They designed it to be so.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Unfortunately one place I've seen a lot of them are in emergency rooms. Quite a few of the nurses have them. Most speak pretty highly of it.

And I say unfortunately because I've been on the receiving end of those nurses. Not unfortunate that I see AW's

Yes I wear mine to work and so do a lot of my colleagues. I am a nurse but I don't work in an ER. I hope you don't have to visit the ER again anytime soon.
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Lately, observing the iPhones, I have had a feeling that they love to go incremental. Of course it helps the bottom line, making people upgrade by adding 'just enough' but I do think that if they go on a biennial cycle of hardware releases, the customers might be seriously happier.

Case in point: I did not buy the iPhone 7, because I knew they will eventually add True Tone to it. They should have done it, but they held back. Admittedly I do not _know_ if they really could not, but Apple used to bring seriously loaded hardware, but with the iPhones being on a yearly cycle, they have had little incentive, and personally, I do not like the approach.

They gave a DCI-P3 display on the 7 (IIRC) but just not True Tone. To me, their incremental update mindset was really clear with that. On the other hand, the 8 is what the 7 could have been, minus the wireless charging and A11 of course.

With the watch, they were in new territory and while I have not followed the watch very carefully, but all upgrades to the watch have seemed to be really, really good. Series 3 is really loaded at the moment and there is no reason not to buy one now if one needs it now. I do not need it but instead want it, so I am hopeful of curtailing my wallet back until I see the impending design refresh.

Apple hold things back so they can add it the next year and make more money.

 

[PickUrPoison]

Lately, observing the iPhones, I have had a feeling that they love to go incremental. Of course it helps the bottom line, making people upgrade by adding 'just enough' but I do think that if they go on a biennial cycle of hardware releases, the customers might be seriously happier.

Case in point: I did not buy the iPhone 7, because I knew they will eventually add True Tone to it. They should have done it, but they held back. Admittedly I do not _know_ if they really could not, but Apple used to bring seriously loaded hardware, but with the iPhones being on a yearly cycle, they have had little incentive, and personally, I do not like the approach.

They gave a DCI-P3 display on the 7 (IIRC) but just not True Tone. To me, their incremental update mindset was really clear with that. On the other hand, the 8 is what the 7 could have been, minus the wireless charging and A11 of course.

With the watch, they were in new territory and while I have not followed the watch very carefully, but all upgrades to the watch have seemed to be really, really good. Series 3 is really loaded at the moment and there is no reason not to buy one now if one needs it now. I do not need it but instead want it, so I am hopeful of curtailing my wallet back until I see the impending design refresh.

I get what your saying re: yearly refreshes, but remember that even on a biennial purchase cycle, not everyone is at the same phase in that cycle. You might buy in 2014/16/18 but I buy in 2015/2017/2019. If I need a phone in March before the September refresh, I don’t want want an 18 month old phone, I want a 6 month old phone.

Most people don’t upgrade yearly, but some do. But to keep their offerings fresh, they’ve got to have new models every year. Just as with iMac and MacBook Pro.

 

[macintoshmac]

I get what your saying re: yearly refreshes, but remember that even on a biennial purchase cycle, not everyone is at the same phase in the cycle. You might buy in 2014/16/18 but I buy in 2015/2017/2019. If I need a phone in March before the September refresh, I don’t want want an 18 month old phone, I want a 6 month old phone.

Most people don’t upgrade yearly, but some do. But to keep their offerings fresh, they’ve got to have new models every year. Just as with iMac and MacBook Pro.

Indeed, but phones were not being released yearly previously, if I recall correctly, right? Wouldn't you think that if Apple were to make it biennial, the whole ecosystem would then align for it (we would know that we are keeping the phones for two years or 4 when we are buying).

 

[CarlJ]

It took a while but Apple has done a nice job hammering down what the best use case for the Watch is: activity tracking and notifications. I have a series 0 and I like it more now than I ever have. That said, I’m excited to upgrade this Fall

Indeed. It would probably be a little painful to go watch the original AW launch video now, they were talking excitedly about a bunch of features that dropped by the wayside. The thing is, they couldn't be certain at the time, which features would catch on.

I feel the same way about my series 0 as you do. Use it mostly for notifications and as a watch that is always ridiculously accurate; I appreciate the activity tracking, and sometimes use Siri to set HomeKit scenes, and frequently to add things to my shopping list. And my nieces occasionally take my wrist hostage in order to change the color of Minnie Mouse's outfit and make her talk.
[doublepost=1532678745][/doublepost]

Still wearing my mechanical watch daily.

An actual manual stem winder, or an automatic that gets wound up when you shake your fist at those darn kids while yelling at them to get off your lawn?

I have a few nice quartz watches that I miss, but they just never get worn any more because I'm wearing my Apple Watch all the time, and the others can't give me notifications (and they'll never match the Apple Watch for giving me the exact time every time - no DST changes, no setting the watch every week or month, just continuously syncing via NTP).
[doublepost=1532678922][/doublepost]

Well considering Apple’s supply chain turns over every week, about the same?

I think that was one of Tim Cook's particular accomplishments as the supply chain guy - balancing parts deliveries and production to be able to sell tens of millions of devices without keeping millions sitting around in warehouses.

 

[0095059]

I tried one for 18 months but I’m back to wearing my traditional watches again.

It’s not a bad product and worth trying but it’s not the one for me. Have a look at getting a second hand one, the used prices drop like a stone when the new models are released and you should be able to pick up a decent bargain.

If you look at the Apple Watch as the iPod Nano Plus, then its purpose becomes clear.

It has 8 GB to bring around iTunes music, as well as being a Fitbit. And if you have WiFi, you can check emails and messages.

Unfortunately, they sold it as an iPhone, which it is not.

The problem with marketing it as an iPod Nano Plus is that AirPods are $160 and the watch is $329.

That's pretty expensive for an MP3 player / Fitbit.

If the Apple Watch was $259.99 with Air Pods, then those things would be flying off the shelf.

But $499 for the convenience of a Fitbit with iTunes is still a luxury item.

 

[OllyW]

If you look at the Apple Watch as the iPod Nano Plus, then its purpose becomes clear.

It has 8 GB to bring around iTunes music, as well as being a Fitbit. And if you have WiFi, you can check emails and messages.

Unfortunately, they sold it as an iPhone, which it is not.

The problem with marketing it as an iPod Nano Plus is that AirPods are $160 and the watch is $329.

That's pretty expensive for an MP3 player / Fitbit.

If the Apple Watch was $259.99 with Air Pods, then those things would be flying off the shelf.

But $499 for the convenience of a Fitbit with iTunes is still a luxury item.

I never used it as a music player.

 

[0095059]

I never used it as a music player.

I think that's more or less what it is.

Go for a run or bike ride with your iTunes songs and track your miles / speed.

Or you could be this guy...

 

[OllyW]

I think that's more or less what it is.

Go for a run or bike ride with your iTunes songs and track your miles / speed.

I did the tracking bit on my bike but I like to hear what's coming up behind me so never wear headphones while I'm cycling.

 

[0095059]

I did the tracking bit on my bike but I like to hear what's coming up behind me so never wear headphones while I'm cycling.

You're in luck, my friend. For just $79.99, you can purchase one Apple AirPod which will offer you the highest quality monophonic sound on the market. And with the other ear available for analog noise, you can converse with friends, listen for oncoming traffic, or enjoy the cool breeze of a bicycle ride.

"I used to have to hope that there was ambient music playing at a friend's house. With my Apple AirPod, I no longer have to sit around in silence; I bring the party with me."

 

[Jim Lahey]

Amazing product that liberated me from my phone. Keeping an eye on S4 development with keen interest.

Oh and it's a watch that tells me what time it is...something that seems almost universally overlooked, in my opinion