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

[TallManNY]

Still wearing my mechanical watch daily.

Ha. I still miss my mechanical watch a bit. Much better looking than my Apple Watch. And I still love the idea of a self winding watch. Not to mention when I got my first and only mechanical watch (a Hamilton) it was a little bit of a right of passage graduating to a "real" watch that was at least somewhat in the ballpark of the watches that rich dudes run around wearing. But I can't see myself giving up the functionality of the Apple Watch. Been wearing one since Series 0. And now the Series 3 works even better.

 

[Abazigal]

The Apple Watch has really become an integral part of my daily life.

I run with it, pay for stuff with it using Apple Pay (and it's faster than using my phone), listen to music from it, view and triage notifications on it, and it's pretty handy for quickly viewing information (I can check my bank account balance and 1password passwords from it).

It's really a whole bunch of little conveniences rolled into one neat little package. IMO, it doesn't need that killer app. The killer feature here is convenience for me, in that it lets me perform tasks more quickly and easily than if I had to fish out my phone.

 

[ftaok]

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.

Perhaps, but if that's the direction that Apple would take with the AW, then opening it up to Android still would not be necessary. That was the point of my reply. The AW doesn't need to be opened to Android for it to do what Apple wants. It's not the same situation as the iPod with Windows. I think that Apple realized that the iPod could become a much bigger market than the Mac, so they opened it to Windows. I don't think there is any way for the AW to become bigger than the iPhone, unless it becomes the iPhone (in spirit).

 

[bbeagle]

Still wearing my mechanical watch daily.

Sorry for your mundanity.

 

[Glideslope]

Sorry for your mundanity.

Mundanity, yeah, I used to live in Buffalo.

 

[The Game 161]

The Apple Watch has really become an integral part of my daily life.

I run with it, pay for stuff with it using Apple Pay (and it's faster than using my phone), listen to music from it, view and triage notifications on it, and it's pretty handy for quickly viewing information (I can check my bank account balance and 1password passwords from it).

It's really a whole bunch of little conveniences rolled into one neat little package. IMO, it doesn't need that killer app. The killer feature here is convenience for me, in that it lets me perform tasks more quickly and easily than if I had to fish out my phone.

Agreed couldn’t start my day without it..from sport apps to fitness to reminders it’s so useful. Can’t see ever being without one

 

[Glideslope]

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).

Carrera Automatic (1990 CH80.)

 

[bbeagle]

Mundanity, yeah, I used to live in Buffalo.

Touche

(However, I love Buffalo. It gets a bad rap. I felt the same a long time ago, so I got out. For 10 years, I moved and lived in Denver, Raleigh and San Diego. Raleigh and San Diego never felt like home. Denver was awesome, but too expensive. I've been back in Buffalo for 10+ years now and have a new found love for it.)

 

[nburwell]

AWs (and AirPods) are popping out everywhere here in Italy, in a way closely resembling what the iPod did in the 2000s.

Whenever my wife and I are out, all I see are AW's and I'm seeing more and more people having AirPods as well. But AW's are very popular in my area.

 

[DotCom2]

Touche

(However, I love Buffalo. It gets a bad rap. I felt the same a long time ago, so I got out. For 10 years, I moved and lived in Denver, Raleigh and San Diego. Raleigh and San Diego never felt like home. Denver was awesome, but too expensive. I've been back in Buffalo for 10+ years now and have a new found love for it.)

OT but I gotta say...LOVE San Diego!
You've got the ocean, mountains, deserts and even another country near by.
What's not to like?! 'Cept the cost of housing.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Whenever my wife and I are out, all I see are AW's and I'm seeing more and more people having AirPods as well. But AW's are very popular in my area.

Same here. I see airpods quite frequently in my town centre.

 

[satchmo]

Whilst I’ve no doubt Apple has shipped a lot of these amazing little gadgets. One of the best devices they currently make. This report is still nothing more then an educated guess by an analyst firm.
So you take it with a pinch of salt really..
Kinda silly when they try to compare the figures to the competition.

True, but I do think competitors have indeed closed the gap with respect to improved features and fitness tracking.
Most all have on-board music, some have streamed. And for many fitness users, third party apps like Strava is more than enough to compete with Apple's built-in health app.

 

[PopBodhi]

I love my fitbit and my iPhone 5S. Affordability is key when I buy products. I will not pay $1,000 for a phone or $329 for a watch. Someone posted earlier that fitbit equals fitness and Apple Watch equals Dick Tracy. I wholeheartedly agree.

 

[apolloa]

The Apple Watch has really become an integral part of my daily life.

I run with it, pay for stuff with it using Apple Pay (and it's faster than using my phone), listen to music from it, view and triage notifications on it, and it's pretty handy for quickly viewing information (I can check my bank account balance and 1password passwords from it).

It's really a whole bunch of little conveniences rolled into one neat little package. IMO, it doesn't need that killer app. The killer feature here is convenience for me, in that it lets me perform tasks more quickly and easily than if I had to fish out my phone.

I find my iPhone is pretty hit and miss when using Apple Pay at the till, my Apple Watch is flawless use it a fair bit now instead of the phone.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I find my iPhone is pretty hit and miss when using Apple Pay at the till, my Apple Watch is flawless use it a fair bit now instead of the phone.

I’ve only ever used my iPhone once or twice just to see that it worked. I think once when Apple Pay first came out in the uk and then once with the X to see how it works with Face ID. I always use my Apple Watch because it’s much more convenient to.

 

[a.gomez]

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

I agree with that up to a point. They need to fix the Black Void somehow. And it still does not sit on the wrist right. It is still chunky - it is more of a tech problem really.

The beginning of the design are there I give you that.

 

[Glideslope]

Touche

(However, I love Buffalo. It gets a bad rap. I felt the same a long time ago, so I got out. For 10 years, I moved and lived in Denver, Raleigh and San Diego. Raleigh and San Diego never felt like home. Denver was awesome, but too expensive. I've been back in Buffalo for 10+ years now and have a new found love for it.)

Agreed. I miss my Ted’s Foot Long’s, John and Mary’s Subs, and Anderson’s Lemon Ice. I always preferred Duff’s Wings over Anchor Bar any day of the week.

 

[mi7chy]

Is the decline in market share because the Apple Watches that had their screen pop off no longer count?

 

[Michael Scrip]

Is the decline in market share because the Apple Watches that had their screen pop off no longer count?

The term "market share" has always referred to new sales/shipments during a particular period... usually a quarter.

So it sounds like the decline in market share, in this article, has to do with more units sold/shipped last quarter by other companies in the same market... notably FitBit and Garmin. If the other guys ship more units (they did) then that will affect the percentages of all companies. Or "share"

However... what you're referring to is a different term altogether... "installed base"... which are the units that are currently in-use by consumers.

Yes... a broken Apple Watch would be counted somewhere. But that would be in the "installed base" numbers... not these quarterly "market share" sales numbers.

 

[apolloa]

I’ve only ever used my iPhone once or twice just to see that it worked. I think once when Apple Pay first came out in the uk and then once with the X to see how it works with Face ID. I always use my Apple Watch because it’s much more convenient to.

A question for you, I was told by my brother in law he thinks he paid for something that was 60 ish pounds using Apple pay and his iPhone. Now I thought like in Tesco it's limited to a max of £30, is this true or can you actually use Apple Pay for more then £30 purchases, to me it would make sense due to the security unlike your wireless payment using a card.

 

[Shanghaichica]

A question for you, I was told by my brother in law he thinks he paid for something that was 60 ish pounds using Apple pay and his iPhone. Now I thought like in Tesco it's limited to a max of £30, is this true or can you actually use Apple Pay for more then £30 purchases, to me it would make sense due to the security unlike your wireless payment using a card.

You can but it depends on wether the retailer supports payments above £30. Last time I tried in Tesco (for above) was around Christmas and it didn’t work because it cost more than £30. They might allow payments above £30 now though.

Ive used it in Sainsbury’s and frankie and bennys and the Toby carvery to pay for stuff that cost more than £30.
[doublepost=1532725874][/doublepost]

A question for you, I was told by my brother in law he thinks he paid for something that was 60 ish pounds using Apple pay and his iPhone. Now I thought like in Tesco it's limited to a max of £30, is this true or can you actually use Apple Pay for more then £30 purchases, to me it would make sense due to the security unlike your wireless payment using a card.

You can but it depends on wether the retailer supports payments above £30. Last time I tried in Tesco (for above) was around Christmas and it didn’t work because it cost more than £30. They might allow payments above £30 now though.

Ive used it in Sainsbury’s and frankie and bennys and the Toby carvery to pay for stuff that cost more than £30.

 

[apolloa]

You can but it depends on wether the retailer supports payments above £30. Last time I tried in Tesco (for above) was around Christmas and it didn’t work because it cost more than £30. They might allow payments above £30 now though.

Ive used it in Sainsbury’s and frankie and bennys and the Toby carvery to pay for stuff that cost more than £30.
[doublepost=1532725874][/doublepost]
You can but it depends on wether the retailer supports payments above £30. Last time I tried in Tesco (for above) was around Christmas and it didn’t work because it cost more than £30. They might allow payments above £30 now though.

Ive used it in Sainsbury’s and frankie and bennys and the Toby carvery to pay for stuff that cost more than £30.

Thanks, interesting.. I only normally shop in Tesco. I may try it though next time I buy petrol.

 

[Abazigal]

3Q16: 1.8M (down 31%)
4Q16: 1.8M (down 44%)
1Q17: 5.6M (up 20%)
2Q17: 3.2M (up 108%)
3Q17: 2.7M (up 50%)
4Q17: 2.8M (up 54%)
1Q18: 9.3M (up 65%)
2Q18: 4.6M (up 43%)
3Q18E: 3.8M (up 40%)

To add on, here are the Apple Watch sales estimates from Aboveavalon.

Yes, I know estimates are estimates, but I think that the general undeniable trend is that Apple Watch sales are on the ascendency and that the Apple Watch is here to stay. I think I will probably end up replacing my series 2 sports version next year.

 

[Mr. Chewbacca]

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)

Same here. I have a gen 1 and like it but it is getting really slow. I want to upgrade so bad but the newest watch out is 300+ days old. I can hold out for a few months. I stopped getting the newest thing every year. Most likely will start rotating. New phone one year, new watch the next. New macbook when mine completely dies.

 

[Keirasplace]

The term "market share" has always referred to new sales/shipments during a particular period... usually a quarter.

So it sounds like the decline in market share, in this article, has to do with more units sold/shipped last quarter by other companies in the same market... notably FitBit and Garmin. If the other guys ship more units (they did) then that will affect the percentages of all companies. Or "share"

However... what you're referring to is a different term altogether... "installed base"... which are the units that are currently in-use by consumers.

Yes... a broken Apple Watch would be counted somewhere. But that would be in the "installed base" numbers... not these quarterly "market share" sales numbers.

Market share usually also relates to market segment the product competes in.
Comparing a $80 "smart" watch to any Apple Watch is not really telling you anything.
Apple likely massively owns the high to mid-end smart watch segment.
[doublepost=1532752799][/doublepost]

I love my fitbit and my iPhone 5S. Affordability is key when I buy products. I will not pay $1,000 for a phone or $329 for a watch. Someone posted earlier that fitbit equals fitness and Apple Watch equals Dick Tracy. I wholeheartedly agree.

Fitbit equals a product that breaks all the time, the actual name for that is: trash.
Basic Fitbit's in no way give you the same fitness info than the Apple Watch does, those that do are much closer in price to the Apple Watch while falling short all over the place (and that includes Fitbit's offerings in that segment).