Apple Watch Leads in Rapidly Growing Smartwatch Market, Report Says

[tatsuki]

No surprises, I thought we already knew it was very successful? Well at least from a smartwatch point of view, compared to iPhone sales they have a long long way to go.

I have the series one and don't really like it, telling the time on it is sometimes annoying as the raise to wake doesnt work 100% of the time (why can't they have some always on super basic time display) and I find notifications on my wrist just annoying, also I don't think it's the nicest looking thing, normal watches still look a lot nicer in my opinion.

Health features are the best thing but well until more life changing ones come along I don't see the point in wearing it ( I am in the Uk so the new ECG feature won't work here) One day though if they can continue to add features that monitor health I can see it been an essential device for everyone to own and wear. However the regulatory difficulties that they have to overcome are substantial, as we can see with the ECG feature, every country has different laws and requirements that have to be meet and been a medical device the levels of requirements are much higher than a gadget for reading emails.

 

[LeeW]

The smartwatch is certainly cool, but I don't need/want yet another device to charge.

I thought that I mean I tried others, right back to the Sony series 1, which was, well, ****.

But I think Apple went the right way with this device. I have the Series 3 and it actually does add value to my day in several ways. I have a decent collection of expensive automatics but not worn them in the last few months other than for nights out.

I suspected the charging would create an issue but not really. I have a cheap $10 stand that the charger fits in, the watch goes on it to charge in about an hour or so and lasts for 3 days after. No real fuss given other devices need to be charged anyway.

 

[RogerWilco]

I remember saying "I'd never need one of those, it's pointless"... I'm now onto my second one.

In my own (admittedly unscientific) survey, I see fewer watches being worn than a year ago. None of my relatives working professional jobs owns one, but most have iPhones.

 

[Abazigal]

In my own (admittedly unscientific) survey, I see fewer watches being worn than a year ago. None of my relatives working professional jobs owns one, but most have iPhones.

On my end (here in Singapore), I am definitely seeing more apple watches and AirPods out in the wild.

 

[abrantes09]

Well deserved. My S4 is my most treasured piece of tech.

 

[G5isAlive]

Great product for US citizen and those handful of countries that support ECG .

FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD ,we will be paying full price for a technology that will never see the light of day .

Apple is treating the world as second class.....

Fragmentation...

Before slinging mud, consider the alternative. Would you deprive parts of the world where the local government gives permission for a feature to be activated? That seems rather selfish on your part. "Never see the light of day?" Never is a long time, maybe you should petition your government rather than complain about Apple.

And the ECG is just one of many features that you DO have full access to. Buy the watch for what it can do, not what it can not do.

 

[otternonsense]

Series 4 is indeed a great device, I'm not surprised. Happy with my 44mm one.

My only gripe is that the glass on the aluminium version is incredibly easy to dent/scratch. I wish they used Sapphire across the board, this is like cheap gorilla glass.

 

[djcerla]

"An abject failure. Apple should cancel it and hope people forget soon".

I clearly remember this comment, here.
[doublepost=1550063680][/doublepost]

My only gripe is that the glass on the aluminium version is incredibly easy to dent/scratch. I wish they used Sapphire across the board, this is like cheap gorilla glass.

yes? That's what I was thinking coming from a Stainless Steel Series 0.

But my day-one Series 4 has no dents whatsoever so far.

 

[Naraxus]

I see these in every er on practically every doctor and nurse. I'm pretty notoriously critical of Tim here to the point of being semi-trollish but this is one area where I'll give Tim credit. The Apple Watch is a pretty darn good piece of tech.

 

[jezbd1997]

Apple would always win if they only keep reporting U.S only which only favors them..

It shows nothing to the us Aussies.

Literally 1 in 3 people here now have an Apple Watch. It's rapidly growing here too.

 

[DeepIn2U]

I started with an old Somy Ericsson “smartwatch” for Android which showed time and some notifications. I immediately got the first Apple Watch and have worn it every day since then. Im on Watch 3 now and holding out for Watch 5 but its hard!

Which model the first series WBH-150? Those where great. I’m still looking for one of their very first commercials where a couple at a home dinner table and guy gets an sms from another woman and smirks. Hahaha.

 

[alexhardaker]

I remember saying "I'd never need one of those, it's pointless"... I'm now onto my second one.

This seems to happen with a lot of Apple products

 

[ipponrg]

In my own (admittedly unscientific) survey, I see fewer watches being worn than a year ago. None of my relatives working professional jobs owns one, but most have iPhones.

Anecdotally, I see a lot of people wearing Apple Watches here in NYC.

I don’t own one but wanted to get one strictly for the gym. My friend who works at Apple dissuaded me and says it’s a complete waste if I was going to only wear it to the gym

As a watch enthusiast, i knew this would be popular amongst people who were not previously wearing a watch or leaned heavily on tech.

I still value and find my mechanical watches cooler and more practical. I haven’t had to charge my Omega Planet Ocean since I bought it in 2011, and the movement/history is pretty interesting

 

[alexhardaker]

The key thing imo is Apple figured out what they want to focus on the watch, health. Thus their improvements are focused and improved the watch tremendously with every iteration.

We can see on the first Apple Watch, Apple was still figuring things out. But by the S2, Apple already knows their target, so they focus on improvements for that purpose on every iteration. Eg. water proofing for swimmers, the adjustment for wheelchair users, partnering with Nike, GPS+cellular for outdoor runners, EKG for further health uses, etc. There’s a clear vision for the AW.

In contrast look at Android wear. Google cannot even figure out the proper UI for the device, changing things around with every update. Now there a lot of fashion brands using Android wear on their catalogue, but the OS itself has no idea where it should be going.

So it’s not a surprise Apple is leading here.

Wasn’t it initially a fashion accessory?

 

[dominiongamma]

In my own (admittedly unscientific) survey, I see fewer watches being worn than a year ago. None of my relatives working professional jobs owns one, but most have iPhones.

Year ago I saw no one wear them, this year alone I’ve seen so many people wearing them
[doublepost=1550065567][/doublepost]

Anecdotally, I see a lot of people wearing Apple Watches here in NYC.

I don’t own one but wanted to get one strictly for the gym. My friend who works at Apple dissuaded me and says it’s a complete waste if I was going to only wear it to the gym

As a watch enthusiast, i knew this would be popular amongst people who were not previously wearing a watch or leaned heavily on tech.

I still value and find my mechanical watches cooler and more practical. I haven’t had to charge my Omega Planet Ocean since I bought it in 2011, and the movement/history is pretty interesting

I’m little shock your friend talked you out of it, I use my watch for the gym mostly 99% of time, I don’t use it for texting or music but I still think it’s worth it because you are visually seeing progress being made with your health.

 

[ipponrg]

Wasn’t it initially a fashion accessory?

I think the original value proposition was to be able to read your emails and text messages without picking up your phone
[doublepost=1550065854][/doublepost]

Year ago I saw no one wear them, this year alone I’ve seen so many people wearing them
[doublepost=1550065567][/doublepost]
I’m little shock your friend talked you out of it, I use my watch for the gym mostly 99% of time, I don’t use it for texting or music but I still think it’s worth it because you are visually seeing progress being made with your health.

My friend said for what I wanted to do and because I wasn’t going to wear outside the gym, it would be better buying a Fitbit. FWIW, I only wanted to monitor my heart rate to make sure I was in the correct zones for my exercises.

 

[Sasparilla]

The Apple watch 4 is the first one that doesnt run like a dog, that runs smoothly, and is actually fast enough to do stuff on without reaching for your phone.

Have to disagree with this. The 3 ran very smoothly and had slightly longer battery life if memory serves. Beyond the ECG there is very little the 3 wasn't already doing that the 4 brought new.

That said, the watch is one product where there are significant leaps in performance and capabilities every year and impacts from the next revision of the OS (something we haven't seen smartphones for quite a while) and while I skipped the 4 I won't be skipping the 5.

 

[zulkiflim]

Before slinging mud, consider the alternative. Would you deprive parts of the world where the local government gives permission for a feature to be activated? That seems rather selfish on your part. "Never see the light of day?" Never is a long time, maybe you should petition your government rather than complain about Apple.

And the ECG is just one of many features that you DO have full access to. Buy the watch for what it can do, not what it can not do.

ECG is one of the features ? How about a VERY BIG FEATURE that no other smart watch has ?

It is an amazing feature that can at the very least send a loved one for a heart checkup !

And you assume that the local goverment did not give approval ? Do you have proof ?
If the bottl neck is is the lol goverment yes , then Apple should take the initiate and inform us, so we can petition our own local goverment .


Unless other nations citizens lives are unimportant ? Not even a release date ? Not even a memo?

Also other countries without the full set of features ARE PAYING THE FULL PRICE for the Apple Watch.

Also can you pls tell me why the HomePod is not sold to every country ? Because of local goverment restriction ?

Apple fragmentation is giving the entire world Apple users a wake up call .
China has an dual sim iPhone while the rest of the world have an unused esim .

I personally feel that certain nation are more favored and feel like a second class consumer.
Apple was never like this.

 

[otternonsense]

"An abject failure. Apple should cancel it and hope people forget soon".

I clearly remember this comment, here.
[doublepost=1550063680][/doublepost]

yes? That's what I was thinking coming from a Stainless Steel Series 0.

But my day-one Series 4 has no dents whatsoever so far.

It's a day-one item, give it a few more days

I actually went to the store and received a replacement device (for free, thanks Apple) within a month from purchase because I got totally puzzled with (and vocal about) the amount of scuffs and micro scratches on the glass. The second one seems to be doing better (but also because I'm EXTREMELY careful with it)

 

[Glideslope]

Have to disagree with this. The 3 ran very smoothly and had slightly longer battery life if memory serves. Beyond the ECG there is very little the 3 wasn't already doing that the 4 brought new.

That said, the watch is one product where there are significant leaps in performance and capabilities every year and impacts from the next revision of the OS (something we haven't seen smartphones for quite a while) and while I skipped the 4 I won't be skipping the 5.

I've skipped every generation as I am a mechanical watch aficionado. However, I have been monitoring the ECG development. I am impressed. If the Gen 5 has glucose monitoring I will most likely purchase one as my daily device. I never thought I'd get to this point, and have no issues criticizing Apple these days. However, they deserve kudos on the AW Health Monitoring development.

 

[lunarworks]

Hardly surprising. This place has always had a problem with the bigger picture.

You mean to tell me that my needs and interests don't represent those of the larger marker? Get out of here with your lies!

 

[Mansu944]

Great product for US citizen and those handful of countries that support ECG .

FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD ,we will be paying full price for a technology that will never see the light of day .

Apple is treating the world as second class.....

Fragmentation...

You do realize it’s YOUR coontry’s Fault and not Apples right?

 

[xDKP]

I remember saying "I'd never need one of those, it's pointless"... I'm now onto my second one.

Bravo my man. Many people wouldn’t admit they were wrong in forums like this.

I’ve been a fan all along. Among my favourite Apple products the last couple of years - and it’s only gotten stronger with the latest

 

[lunarworks]

And you assume that the local goverment did not give approval ? Do you have proof ?
If the bottl neck is is the lol goverment yes , then Apple should take the initiate and inform us, so we can petition our own local goverment

I'm pretty sure Apple said something along those lines during the keynote when it was demonstrated.

 

[zulkiflim]

You have to start somewhere and that was always going to be the US. An ECG is not just some cool feature, it is a regulated measurement in most countries. I suspect the entire process in the US to get it accepted via the FDA took a couple of years at least.

For the UK, Apple would need to apply to the MHRA and I can guarantee they will want new clinical trials, that will all take years as well. There is a slim chance they won't want the trials but I doubt it, the stress on the National Health Service if it causes too many people heading to a hospital as their watch told them to will mean it will go through the full process to ensure it meets the required standards.

And that is only two countries, repeat all that over and over for every other country given the different regulations and it is going to take a long time before ECG is available in many countries.

I agree , and do you know that for most countries they use the FDA approval as a benchmark ?
For Singapore, we have a agreement that is aligned with the FDA, unless it has been changed recently.
And like you say testing take years BUT data can be shared and accessed.
Apple spent time to work with the FDA in the USA but not in tandem with other countries at the same time ?

But they released the product at the same time ?
If that is true it just shows that Apple being a multi billion dollar companies prioritize certain countries.
But is not above selling the same product in other countries FULL PRICE ?

APPLE IS able to work with the entire world goverment to release a new iPhone , seeking approval and licensing ..
But they can’t do it for the Apple Watch .

It is the same case for the Home pod, why certain countries , a speaker need individual goveent regulation ?

Fragmentation and I hate it...