Apple Watch Dominates Cellular-Enabled Smartwatch Market

[tooloud10]

As for the $15.00 per month - that is a nothing fee that I would not care about actually. Pinching pennies makes no sense when you are rich - your time on the planet is worth a lot more.

Lots of people would disagree with that, including myself. It's not that $15/month will break the bank, it's that I'm just not seeing $180/year worth of value there...and I've got four Apple watch users on my account, which means it would run $60/month, or $720/year for approximately .5-1GB of extra data usage every month. That's just not worth it for the rare times I don't have my phone near me.

Anyway, the 'nothing fee' argument works both ways--the cellular usage is so small for most that the providers wouldn't even notice the difference, especially since most AW cell data is data that would have otherwise been consumed by an iPhone.

I mean $15.00 - it's like debating whether to pay a "Netflix" monthly fee - not a big concern.

Except it all kind of adds up when you have to buy Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Showtime, etc...all for $15/month each.

 

[GaryMumford]

I was hoping the iWatchLTE would be a little iPhone on my wrist.

Sadly, Apple's developer restrictions are so onerous it's almost impossible to make a good untethered watch app. The watch is still nearly useless without being phone tethered.

I won't buy any more iWatches unless Apple lets people make real apps for it.

Still just an expensive toy.

There’s no such thing as an iWatch.

 

[Sanlitun]

Please get it working in Canada. Oh and the Homepod too thanks.

 

[rizzo41999]

The amount of crap I got from people back in 2015 when I was wearing S0 - "I don't need that, I have my phone." Now everyone has one!

 

[Yuthopia]

Is anybody here using an Apple Watch regularly as a standalone device? Like, going out regularly with just an Apple Watch and no phone. I'm curious to see if this is doable yet.

Doable? Yes.
What to do it? No.

Because The only time I don’t want my phone with me But still want to pick up or make calls are when I am in the pool/shower/ocean, or running outdoor.

 

[kdarling]

There’s no such thing as an iWatch.

You're right. But we all know what he means.

It's better sometimes than using AW, which can get confused with Android Wear.

The meaning of iWatch, on the other hand, is clear to everyone.

 

[Yuthopia]

Do you use the Gear S3 with an Android phone or iPhone? I've been researching fitness-oriented smartwatches and many of them--Apple Watch included--leave a lot to be desired. The Apple Watch loses out in GPS in comparison to dedicated fitness watches (such as Garmin and Polar).

AW wins in all categories including GPS, but loses out badly on Battery. It lasts only 18 hours, while those last 4 to 7 days.

But seriously they are quite ugly.

You would not wear them with attires other than sport one.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

As for the $15.00 per month - that is a nothing fee that I would not care about actually. Pinching pennies makes no sense when you are rich - your time on the planet is worth a lot more. I mean $15.00 - it's like debating whether to pay a "Netflix" monthly fee - not a big concern.

Haha. Thurston Howell III is that you? I would have though everyone on the island would be dead by now.

 

[Will.O.Bie]

There’s no such thing as an iWatch.

Apparently, this is what most people call the AW3 in Asia. I never understood that either but I guess they are creating a more recognizable, and shorter way to call the Watch (iPhone, iMac, iPad, iWatch..etc.)

 

[tylersdad]

AW wins in all categories including GPS, but loses out badly on Battery. It lasts only 18 hours, while those last 4 to 7 days.

But seriously they are quite ugly.

You would not wear them with attires other than sport one.

No. The Apple Watch takes minutes to acquire a GPS signal. It will not start tracking heart rate and location data until it acquires a GPS signal and there is no indication on the watch that the watch has acquired a GPS signal.

My 6-year-old Garmin Forerunner 610 performs far better than this. Don't take my word for it. Read DC Rainmaker's review. Skip down to the GPS Accuracy section.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/11/apple-watch-series3-cellular-fitness-sport-review.html

 

[BuddyTronic]

That's not the discussion. The discussion is "cellular" enabled smartwatches being a "Billions and Billions" industry.

OK - perhaps I am off topic.

You say it is a small market - whatever "it" is - I think I misunderstood.

It's big stuff from my perspective, but it's not much to debate about I don't think.

 

[44267547]

I think LTE is a very niche market. I see the trend growing eventually, but I think Apple and carriers need to formulate some better plans that would be adjustable to the consumer and why they _would_ want LTE. They have to sell the service, The Apple Watch sells itself.

 

[BuddyTronic]

Haha. Thurston Howell III is that you? I would have though everyone on the island would be dead by now.

I get the point of the joke - but I do hope you also get my point - It is about the value proposition of the product.

The Apple Watch might give you insight into your heart rate to the point that it could save your life - it adds a little bit of extra tech features to your "digital life". So it can be fairly easily justified to pay a $20 per month fee for extra cell service for it. I would agree with anyone who says that the cell service for Apple Watch should be bundled into an iPhone plan for "free". I think my medical insurance company might be paying for the bill in the future actually - just using my crystal ball guess about the future.

A little bird told me there are going to be some useful health monitoring features added to the Apple Watch in the future.

 

[gsurf123]

And all of the analysts said it was not a hit with consumers. 3.8 million sold in one quarter for an item that starts at $249. Any company selling electronic goods would kill to have a product at that price point with those sales numbers. Even the cheap wearables can't match those numbers.

 

[MauiPa]

My watch is LTE, but I don't use that feature. I got it because the SS version does not have a non LTE version. The monthly fee they charge here in the US is too ridiculous.

$10/month is too ridiculous? If its more, change carriers.

Actually mine worked out very well, because I needed to add a line to get a BOGO on a new phone, I activated watch and saved $1000.

Honestly, It is good to listen to music when outside, but I hardly ever stream to do that, never sprung for an unlimited plan. Emergency calling and location in an emergency is the only reason I needed LTE. sure beats keeping my phone in a pocket getting all sweaty when I work out, or wearing a retro arm band I guess. Using ApplePay to buy in an emergency is great as well.
[doublepost=1527105036][/doublepost]

that was my first reaction.. "wait.. there are other guys out there making cellular enabled wearables?" There really aren't a lot. I think MOST of us are more than content with having it an extension of our smartphone when we're out, and WiFi enabled when we have access.

Also in confusion. How does this article get any of the values it claims to have? "We don't know the breakdown of Apple's device sales since Apple won't give us a breakdown, but we believe Apple's Cell based is the best selling cell based watch!"

it's literally pulling a claim out of it's rear-end. I don't doubt the claim as nobody seems to be playing in the Cell enabled watch space except for one or two players... But the claim's logic is dubious.

something you don't understand, means they pulled it out of their rear-end? I bet that applies to a lot of other things for you as well. While, it is true Apple doesn't disclose, but that doesn't mean there is no way of discerning. Marketing people are really smart, there is data, it can be found. Guessing activation data, deliveries. parts, etc.

 

[spazzcat]

Well, compared to the iPhone market, the wearable market is tiny at the moment. It's growing, but it's not huge yet.

Why does everything able to be compared to some other market?

 

[DBDukes]

I personally don’t see any advantage of a cellular enabled watch. Of course, I didn’t see any sense for me to get an Apple Watch. But I got one as a Christmas present, and I love it.

 

[MauiPa]

AW wins in all categories including GPS, but loses out badly on Battery. It lasts only 18 hours, while those last 4 to 7 days.

But seriously they are quite ugly.

You would not wear them with attires other than sport one.

Your statement that AW only lasts 18 hours is false. I get 2 full days out of mine which includes wearing every night to monitor heart rate and exercising every day for an hour, with it always on.

It is very hard to compare different products doing different things and judge battery life. Knowing that all manufacturers have equal access to battery and screen technology, RAM, processors, LTE/WIFI?Bluetooth radios, and sensors. There is no reason to believe that one manufacturer gets an enormous bonus in battery life. More likely there is a big difference in the use. How long is the screen on, when is low power triggered, is the screen using less power (different technology, or not as bright - what are those tradeoffs?), does GPS ping less, is the CPU clocked lower (or maybe a smaller die) on and on and on. Certainly kudos to those who have optimized for battery life, especially if someone wants their watch to last that long. It certainly is not a one-size fits all market, there is room for others. I understand you can get a watch that lets a year on a battery. Its not very smart though.

 

[BuddyTronic]

No. The Apple Watch takes minutes to acquire a GPS signal. It will not start tracking heart rate and location data until it acquires a GPS signal and there is no indication on the watch that the watch has acquired a GPS signal.

My 6-year-old Garmin Forerunner 610 performs far better than this. Don't take my word for it. Read DC Rainmaker's review. Skip down to the GPS Accuracy section.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/11/apple-watch-series3-cellular-fitness-sport-review.html

DC Rainmaker is awesome for fitness gear reviews.

There is always room for improvement. For sure if you are doing an Ironman, you'd want the latest Garmin stuff, but let's check back in a few years and see. Apple has enough money to beat anything, and they just might do that.

For right now today, Apple watch GPS is like the camera on the iPhone analogy. "The best camera is the camera you have in your hand" - likewise the "best GPS is the one you have". Next Triathlon I do I'd take a Garmin and my Apple Watch along. I can say right now though - I don't have to even think about taking my Apple Watch for swimming indoors or out, and the GPS for open water swimming is pretty neet, and I don't have to prepare or remember anything - it's just there.

 

[MauiPa]

I personally don’t see any advantage of a cellular enabled watch. Of course, I didn’t see any sense for me to get an Apple Watch. But I got one as a Christmas present, and I love it.

Primary use for me with LTE is for emergencies. I can make emergency calls and my family can locate me. (Might not sound big, but some people have health issues that need monitoring). As a bonus, I got extra storage and music updates automatically so I can listen to music. I never considered that, but its an awesome design idea.

 

[BuddyTronic]

Doable? Yes.
What to do it? No.

Because The only time I don’t want my phone with me But still want to pick up or make calls are when I am in the pool/shower/ocean, or running outdoor.

Yah, I find it useful for taking a phone call while I am puttering around the yard.

Oh - ALSO - the main good feature of having an Apple Watch is that I can "Ping" my iPhone to find my iPhone. Is it on the couch? Kitchen Table? Desk? Or in the Car? Or on the workbench in the Garage? I always misplace the iPhone, so the ability to make the iPhone beep a submarine sonar style ping tone really saves me like 3 days of the week! No kidding!

One more thing - I use Apple Watch for Apple Pay all the time. Very convenient!

 

[B4U]

That is true I think.

I have the cellular ceramic Apple Watch, and I have not activated cellular because my lame cell provider still does not do Apple Watch cellular plans as far as I know (I am in Canada).

As for the $15.00 per month - that is a nothing fee that I would not care about actually. Pinching pennies makes no sense when you are rich - your time on the planet is worth a lot more. I mean $15.00 - it's like debating whether to pay a "Netflix" monthly fee - not a big concern.

Great, so you are going to pay for mine too?
An addition $15 per month on my $45 phone bill IS significant especially when it costs the carriers essentially nothing.

 

[MauiPa]

No. The Apple Watch takes minutes to acquire a GPS signal. It will not start tracking heart rate and location data until it acquires a GPS signal and there is no indication on the watch that the watch has acquired a GPS signal.

My 6-year-old Garmin Forerunner 610 performs far better than this. Don't take my word for it. Read DC Rainmaker's review. Skip down to the GPS Accuracy section.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/11/apple-watch-series3-cellular-fitness-sport-review.html

I read the article you posted and it does seem pretty thorough, but differs greatly from my own experience. For example, takes minutes to acquire GPS. OK, maybe, but mine is on all the time, so it is already acquired, who puts the watch on exactly before the go for a run? The GPS tracking looks more like a mapping issue, I get tracked on the roads I actually run on, so I can't attest to that. Heart rate is always about averaging over a period of time, the longer the averaging period, the smoother the graph. In the article it appears that the author is using a long averaging period (there is a power conservation setting on the watch that slows down the interval to preserve battery life on long runs - sounds like that is on).

I'm not sure what the target market of dcrainmaker is and thus his review and conclusions. But I'm not in his target group. The AW works great for me.

 

[tylersdad]

DC Rainmaker is awesome for fitness gear reviews.

There is always room for improvement. For sure if you are doing an Ironman, you'd want the latest Garmin stuff, but let's check back in a few years and see. Apple has enough money to beat anything, and they just might do that.

For right now today, Apple watch GPS is like the camera on the iPhone analogy. "The best camera is the camera you have in your hand" - likewise the "best GPS is the one you have". Next Triathlon I do I'd take a Garmin and my Apple Watch along. I can say right now though - I don't have to even think about taking my Apple Watch for swimming indoors or out, and the GPS for open water swimming is pretty neet, and I don't have to prepare or remember anything - it's just there.

I hear you. I really wish the Apple Watch had better training credentials, cause I'm in the market for a new training watch now. I just don't think the Apple Watch will make me 100% happy on the fitness side of things. Will probably wind up with the Vivoactive 3 or Forerunner 645. I'm already somewhat locked into their ecosystem since my cycling computer is the Edge 500. Nice to have all of my training data in one place.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Why does everything able to be compared to some other market?

Because that is how business works. It provides perspective and insight on how "deep" a product is to a company. A company separates income by division and then prospective investors, investors, curious public have an idea how important that product is currently, in the future. So, for example, right now all of Apple "other" revenue is 6%. That includes AW, Apple buds, beats products, ATV, and other accessories. Maybe "important" products for Apple's future and certainly growth compared to past years, but it's not a significant product yet. It's very munch still in the hobby/niche area the ATV was in for years after release.

To circle back to the your post I responded to, the estimate is that Apple will sell 20m AW units this year, double last year, but not "huge." Non-Apple wearable sales are less, significantly less. So again, you can't say the category is "huge." But given that AW is an iPhone accessory, even with LTE, and Apple sells well over 200m iPhones the AW has a ways to go before it gets to wide adoption.

That's why comparisons are important.