Apple Watch Continues to Dominate With Estimated 1 in 3 Share of Smartwatch Sales Last Quarter

[ipponrg]

But the fact remains that iOS users generate far more revenue overall than their Android counterparts. A person looking at market share and seeing 89% Android vs 11% iOS would be stupid to think that means the revenue split is also the same for both.

I don’t think you can blindly compare this in fairness. Maybe if you are talking games only, otherwise most people will have a blend of iOS and Android supported devices. The basis of the question still boils down to do you care about immediate revenue or do you care about growth? And what do you consider revenue?

In a past company I was at, we monetized on ads. The Android devices outnumber iOS/TvOS devices significantly. The order of revenue came from web > android / Roku > iOS > other. And if you watched Silicon Valley and how Jared bought a lot of users, guess where there are more users?

 

[I7guy]

I don’t think you can blindly compare this in fairness. Maybe if you are talking games only, otherwise most people will have a blend of iOS and Android supported devices. The basis of the question still boils down to do you care about immediate revenue or do you care about growth? And what do you consider revenue?

In a past company I was at, we monetized on ads. The Android devices outnumber iOS/TvOS devices significantly. The order of revenue came from web > android / Roku > iOS > other. And if you watched Silicon Valley and how Jared bought a lot of users, guess where there are more users?

Wasn’t there an article about the App Store hitting $25B? That may be why there is a perception that iOS users will buy into the ecosystem.

 

[Abazigal]

I don’t think you can blindly compare this in fairness. Maybe if you are talking games only, otherwise most people will have a blend of iOS and Android supported devices. The basis of the question still boils down to do you care about immediate revenue or do you care about growth? And what do you consider revenue?

In a past company I was at, we monetized on ads. The Android devices outnumber iOS/TvOS devices significantly. The order of revenue came from web > android / Roku > iOS > other. And if you watched Silicon Valley and how Jared bought a lot of users, guess where there are more users?

This goes to show that it is not market share which matters to a developer, but usage share. Poll 10 different companies on their revenue split between iOS and android, and you will likely get 10 differing results.

I use a variety of apps available only on iOS. Bear, overcast, spark (until recently), things, Apollo and Tweetbot, just to name a few. They are run by small teams who have decided that it is more lucrative to focus their energies on developing for just the Apple ecosystem.

The general trend I observe is that many apps launch for iOS first, because that’s where the money is. They may then release the app for android some time later as resources allow (because one common refrain I hear is how challenging it is to support so many different android devices). This was what happened with fortnite, and epic even made android users have to download an installer from a third party website.

Even iOS users presumably earn google more money than their own android platform. Which is why google pays Apple so much to keep their search engine as the preinstalled default. And I expect this number to grow as the number of active iPhone users continue to increase.

Bottom line - market share is ultimately useless when it comes to estimating how many people will use your product, because not all customers are equal when it comes to spending power or usage patterns. I debunked this fallacious theory many times over at Cnet back in 2012, and it’s no more true today.

 

[Rob_2811]

This goes to show that it is not market share which matters to a developer, but usage share. Poll 10 different companies on their revenue split between iOS and android, and you will likely get 10 differing results.

I use a variety of apps available only on iOS. Bear, overcast, spark (until recently), things, Apollo and Tweetbot, just to name a few. They are run by small teams who have decided that it is more lucrative to focus their energies on developing for just the Apple ecosystem.

The general trend I observe is that many apps launch for iOS first, because that’s where the money is. They may then release the app for android some time later as resources allow (because one common refrain I hear is how challenging it is to support so many different android devices). This was what happened with fortnite, and epic even made android users have to download an installer from a third party website.

Even iOS users presumably earn google more money than their own android platform. Which is why google pays Apple so much to keep their search engine as the preinstalled default. And I expect this number to grow as the number of active iPhone users continue to increase.

Bottom line - market share is ultimately useless when it comes to estimating how many people will use your product, because not all customers are equal when it comes to spending power or usage patterns. I debunked this fallacious theory many times over at Cnet back in 2012, and it’s no more true today.

They did that to bypass Googles 30% cut from the Play Store and to maintain their direct relationship with their customer neither of which they are able to do on iOS.

Tim Sweeney (Epic CEO) has been a vocal critic of the App Store FWIW, "Parastic" I think was the term he used..

 

[I7guy]

They did that to bypass Googles 30% cut from the Play Store and to maintain their direct relationship with their customer neither of which they are able to do on iOS.

Tim Sweeney (Epic CEO) has been a vocal critic of the App Store FWIW, "Parastic" I think was the term he used..

Jealousy might be the better word.

 

[Abazigal]

They did that to bypass Googles 30% cut from the Play Store and to maintain their direct relationship with their customer neither of which they are able to do on iOS.

Tim Sweeney (Epic CEO) has been a vocal critic of the App Store FWIW, "Parastic" I think was the term he used..

A move which does absolutely nothing for me as a consumer.

I am surprised that there are still people here who think that Apple is wrong to lock down their App Store the way they have.

 

[realtuner]

I don’t think you can blindly compare this in fairness. Maybe if you are talking games only, otherwise most people will have a blend of iOS and Android supported devices. The basis of the question still boils down to do you care about immediate revenue or do you care about growth? And what do you consider revenue?

In a past company I was at, we monetized on ads. The Android devices outnumber iOS/TvOS devices significantly. The order of revenue came from web > android / Roku > iOS > other. And if you watched Silicon Valley and how Jared bought a lot of users, guess where there are more users?

Funny that with all this supposed "growth" of Android, iOS and The App Store still generate more revenue. I'm still waiting (along with Eric Schmidt) to see the day when Android overtakes iOS.

I remember way back when Google used to report their daily Android activations. When that number stopped growing they pivoted to the actual number of Android devices in use. Now they stopped reporting that as well. Sorry, but I don't see where this "growth" you're talking about comes from. What I DO see is iOS performing far better than Android in every single area, except "market share" or ad-supported Apps. Two areas I couldn't care less about.

 

[Abazigal]

Funny that with all this supposed "growth" of Android, iOS and The App Store still generate more revenue. I'm still waiting (along with Eric Schmidt) to see the day when Android overtakes iOS.

I remember way back when Google used to report their daily Android activations. When that number stopped growing they pivoted to the actual number of Android devices in use. Now they stopped reporting that as well. Sorry, but I don't see where this "growth" you're talking about comes from. What I DO see is iOS performing far better than Android in every single area, except "market share" or ad-supported Apps. Two areas I couldn't care less about.

Google also stopped adopting their android adoption numbers some time ago.

Market share is really the only metric android supporters can use to show that they are anything but losing the smartphone wars.

 

[alien3dx]

lol topic become divert.

 

[ipponrg]

Bottom line - market share is ultimately useless when it comes to estimating how many people will use your product, because not all customers are equal when it comes to spending power or usage patterns. I debunked this fallacious theory many times over at Cnet back in 2012, and it’s no more true today.

That’s because you don’t understand it from a product perspective, and you are just making a blanket conclusion.

50 percent of 89% is more than 100% of 11%, right? Can you tell me what percent of 89 is needed to equal 11%?

Maybe you should tell Supercell to not create games for Android because iOS is the only platform they should develop for
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What I DO see is iOS performing far better than Android in every single area, except "market share" or ad-supported Apps. Two areas I couldn't care less about.

Yeah you don’t care because that is what happens when a flaw is pointed out at your assumptions
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lol topic become divert.

Lol I read a post earlier and thought it was fun to join in the convo to divert the thread

 

[Abazigal]

That’s because you don’t understand it from a product perspective, and you are just making a blanket conclusion.

50 percent of 89% is more than 100% of 11%, right? Can you tell me what percent of 89 is needed to equal 11%?

Maybe you should tell Supercell to not create games for Android because iOS is the only platform they should develop for

You are way too charitable with your numbers. The bulk of android smartphones sold are not high-end flagship phones. Not to mention that piracy is rampant on android (due to the ease of side loading apps).

50%? Try 5% tops.

Ads might be more profitable on android, but then again, I rarely ever use ad-supported apps. I either pay outright to have them removed, or favour paid, non-ad-supported apps. Maybe I am the outlier here?

But to go back to the original thread, I am not surprised that the Apple Watch is doing as well as it is. As I mentioned before, Apple has aggregated the best customers. This means that iPhone users tend to have more disposable income with which to spend on expensive smartwatches, and extra bands. This in turn means that Apple has more incentive to plow their resources to continue improving the Apple Watch. Not surprising, when you consider how expensive it is to develop custom processors and other technologies such as the W1 chip.

This is clearly the reverse with the other smartwatch OEMs, who are reliant on Qualcomm (who has shown that they have little interest in developing viable processors for smartwatches), dependent on google for the underlying software (and google seems to have given up in this area as well), and basically just lack the resources to invest in developing breakthrough features.

This gulf will only become wider and wider over time.

 

[realtuner]

That’s because you don’t understand it from a product perspective, and you are just making a blanket conclusion.

50 percent of 89% is more than 100% of 11%, right? Can you tell me what percent of 89 is needed to equal 11%?

Maybe you should tell Supercell to not create games for Android because iOS is the only platform they should develop for.

Again, nobody said iOS is "the only platform" they should develop for. So why do you keep saying that?

Your percentages are as irrelevant as Androids 89% market share. You keep avoiding the fact that The App Store (iOS) generates twice the revenues for developers as Google Play (Android). Why is that?

Yeah you don’t care because that is what happens when a flaw is pointed out at your assumptions

No assumptions here - just plain facts. Like the fact iOS dominates in every metric you can use "except" market share.

And to the Apple Watch, Apple's 35.8% market share is far more valuable than everyone else. Like the iPhone, Apple doesn't make bargain wearables that get lumped into the same category as the Apple Watch.​

 

[inkswamp]

Steve would have never let this happen!

/s

 

[alexhardaker]

Because fit bits don’t do as much as an Apple Watch. It’s like like asking why did pre smartphones last longer than smart phones.

Don’t Samsung Galaxy watches last longer than AW?

 

[ipponrg]

No assumptions here - just plain facts. Like the fact iOS dominates in every metric you can use "except" market share.

Funny how you asked about my company’s device usage yet continued with your diatribe.

Your percentages are as irrelevant as Androids 89% market share. You keep avoiding the fact that The App Store (iOS) generates twice the revenues for developers as Google Play (Android). Why is that?

I think we can both agree that being an iOS only developer is not going to work long term and why very few do it. If you develop mobile apps, games, and services, you will need to target both platforms. If you don’t agree with that, then that’s a different story.
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Ads might be more profitable on android, but then again, I rarely ever use ad-supported apps. I either pay outright to have them removed, or favour paid, non-ad-supported apps. Maybe I am the outlier here?

Haha you’re the outlier in a lot of things that are not in an Apple forum

 

[alien3dx]

Funny how you asked about my company’s device usage yet continued with your diatribe.



I think we can both agree that being an iOS only developer is not going to work long term and why very few do it. If you develop mobile apps, games, and services, you will need to target both platforms. If you don’t agree with that, then that’s a different story.
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Haha you’re the outlier in a lot of things that are not in an Apple forum

I don't complain much since i have said before ..IOS no ROI(Return On Investment) for me .We will see what wwdc 2019 will tell us either the market of 7s below will be shrinker more or not..

Anyway market for apple watch will be stay but not sure how profitable to make an apps just for it. Samsung S3 is real design watch but i not like the square shape watch.

** for watch, i only used casio and i respect their durability for it..Not tend to smartwatch yet either android nor apple

 

[realtuner]

Funny how you asked about my company’s device usage yet continued with your diatribe.

Funny how you provided a vaguely worded answer instead of simply giving an actual number.

I think we can both agree that being an iOS only developer is not going to work long term and why very few do it. If you develop mobile apps, games, and services, you will need to target both platforms. If you don’t agree with that, then that’s a different story.

For the umpteenth time, nobody has ever said developers should stick to iOS only. Why do you insist on repeating this? Can you not argue against what someone actually said, instead of your made-up version of what you think they said?​

 

[Abazigal]

I think we can both agree that being an iOS only developer is not going to work long term and why very few do it. If you develop mobile apps, games, and services, you will need to target both platforms. If you don’t agree with that, then that’s a different story.

The trend I am observing is that apps tend to get released on iOS first because it’s easier to develop for and more lucrative overall. The easy money can then help fund further development and expansion into the android market, if they decide to go there.

However, there can be other factors limiting this, such as manpower. For instance, Bear is a 3-man team with no experience developing for android. Apollo and overcast are basically 1-man teams. Battleheart: legacy is made by a husband-and-wife team, so they really only have resources to support one platform (the android port would take over a year to arrive). Readdle is not a small company, yet it took the longest time for them to support android as well, with this infamous tweet back in 2014.
https://twitter.com/Readdle/status/458360695927492608
I know spark is coming to android (makes sense, you can’t have a collaborative email app which works on only one platform), but are scanner pro and pdf expert available there as well? Search isn’t doing anything for me at the moment.

This reminds me of the story where some guy claimed that a heavier rock would fall faster than a lighter one simply because it “made sense”. Developing for 89% of the smartphone market sounds tempting over 11% of the market, but then real life tells you a different story with that 11% often netting developers more money for less effort.

Like I said, not all customers are made equal. We may be few in number (comparatively), but there’s still enough of us in an absolute sense to sustain our own ecosystem. In short - we pull our weight where it matters.

 

[koruki]

from what I've seen a lot of the competition watches were gifted free when you buy the corresponding phone from the brand so really the percentage should be higher

 

[ROGmaster]

LMAO what's weak is your stating my rebuttal is such due to me going in-depth to shed like on initial vague replies which was non-taken-offence by my interlocutor, the responses seemed to be very adequate and shed light on the dialog. There was no strategy it's simply dialogue ... so many are so intent on arguments here they cannot appreciate good dialogue between too adults. I'd say my rebuttal was quite strong as well as his and both of us took something decent from this. Can't understand why you couldn't - nobody forced you to read my posts.

I only stated the obvious.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I love my Apple Watch series 2 and might upgrade it this year to the series 5. It’s one of those gadgets that you don’t have to upgrade every year or even every 2 years like people seem to do with phones. It’s more on the iPad line of upgrade need I’ve found.

I still enjoy wearing a proper watch though from time to time though, usually special occasions. When I bought my AW two and a half years ago there was one other person in my company that had one. Now there are over 20 of us so it’s a good indicator of how appealing it has become.

My only criticism is the lack of faces Apple seem to release. It’s pretty poor in that regard and needs improving.

 

[The Game 161]

I love my Apple Watch series 2 and might upgrade it this year to the series 5. It’s one of those gadgets that you don’t have to upgrade every year or even every 2 years like people seem to do with phones. It’s more on the iPad line of upgrade need I’ve found.

I still enjoy wearing a proper watch though from time to time though, usually special occasions. When I bought my AW two and a half years ago there was one other person in my company that had one. Now there are over 20 of us so it’s a good indicator of how appealing it has become.

My only criticism is the lack of faces Apple seem to release. It’s pretty poor in that regard and needs improving.

Hopefully it will in iOS 13