Apple Watch Loses Market Share as Android Wear Grows in Popularity

[kdarling]

I don't think the developers speed or easy of adjustment is a measure of how well the UX translates;

Users of both shapes have no problems.

As pointed out many times, some of Apple's own core Watch apps are circular:

As an aside, what the heck are you going to do if Apple does bring out a round watch and it sells as well or even better? Some of you are just setting yourselves up to later look the same as the "Apple would never do a bigger screen because, one-handed" crowd did. Seriously. Learn from history

Keira at least is experienced enough to only predict it'll stay square this year for sure, and perhaps the next, but not to say "never".

The whole feminine/masculine dichotomy is, imho, misplaced and also based on a false assumptions.

Nice political correctness, but contrary to what watch industry stats say. A good article on this is:

http://www.wareable.com/smartwatches/round-v-square-smartwatches-which-is-best

 

[MisterK]

Better looking, would be nice. Seen without the "fashion bands", its just a typical Ive shiny rounded rectangle.

Reminds me of the tale of the "Emperor's New Clothes". Some praise it, while others go, "What the heck?!"

With past products such as the iPhone and iPad, fan concepts were usually outdone by the actual product design. I don't think that happened in the case of the Watch.

I'm quite fond of it as a designed piece. I think the idea is that the bands do the talking and the bezel fades into the background. Otherwise it's impossible to account for all the tastes of a mass market item.

 

[AppleScruff1]

Apple isn't Google, and I am personally thankful for that. The world does not really need another Microsoft or Google trying to please everyone and in the end pleasing almost no one.

Whether it is universally appreciated or not, Apple doesn't build hardware or software, they build tech products, the combination of both. What Steve liked to call "the entire widget." This is where they see their own edge over Google and Microsoft, and again, it is difficult to argue that they are completely wrong. In fact it's difficult to argue that they are wrong at all, given how far they've taken that approach. It's only made them the largest corporation in the history of the world. Perhaps they should have aimed higher?

In any case, the arbitrary preference some have for round things strapped on their wrists certainly does nothing to prove it. If you are Apple (and Jony Ive) you design your products in a way that you believe best suits their function, not to address some arbitrary aesthetic goal. If everybody doesn't love it, fine. Not everybody was supposed to love it.

Consequently, I see Ive refining his concept for Apple Watch in future releases, but not radically changing the form factor. He will be totally deaf to the "a watch must be round" crowd, as well he should be. Apple's agreed marketing blunder notwithstanding.

Today Apple is more like Microsoft and Google than at any time in it's history.

 

[Mac 128]

I'm quite fond of it as a designed piece. I think the idea is that the bands do the talking and the bezel fades into the background. Otherwise it's impossible to account for all the tastes of a mass market item.

And yet the Swiss watch industry managed to do this quite well, to the tune of $24 billion in sales in 2014.

 

[kdarling]

I'm quite fond of it as a designed piece. I think the idea is that the bands do the talking and the bezel fades into the background.

I think you're right. That is most of the idea.

However, people have commented that it's the fact that the screen is off most of the time, which is the negative visual which accentuates the rather plain shape of the main case with its large black screen.

Otherwise it's impossible to account for all the tastes of a mass market item.

Hmm. If Apple only offered one case size and color, then I'd be more prone to agree. But they already offer variations, which already removes much of the benefit of mass production that a single stock number would give.

The tipping point for me, is that Cook has demonstrated that he will not leave profitable markets alone to competitors. Smaller tablets. Larger phones. Pens. Pro tablet label. Even smartwatches. So if (and this is a big "if") he ever thinks round watches are taking his sales, he will do one in a heartbeat.

Now, it's unlikely that they will, simply because Apple is pulling a Microsoft, by keeping key APIs to themselves. So I actually agree that he feels no necessity right now, at least not from external competition.

If his watch sales drop off though, he might easily see the need to offer more variety, especially after having pushed it as a fashion piece.

 

[Skoal]

Anyone else just not into wearables yet?

This!

I wear a Suunto watch but only because with my job, it's easier and safer to use a wrist watch than to pull my phone out quickly. If I didn't have to have one at all I probably wouldn't. Having said that if wearing a watch can make my job easier/more productive then I'm for it.

I plan to get an Apple Watch at some point but it won't be gen 1 and maybe not even gen 2. It'll have to augment the phones capabilities while being more or less independent from it to make me really "need" one.

 

[Skoal]

As with smart phones and tablets, Apple will wile away their market leading position, allowing the competition to catch up by adding more user requested features, and gradually eating away at their marketshare. What happened to the proactive Apple of only a few years ago?

You mean user requested features like larger phone screens? Different tablet size options, etc? What other user requested features has Apple not brought forth that seem to be eating away their market share?

Apple has more products for sale than ever before and I do t necessarily think that's a good thing for them unless the only way we judge their quality is by how many they sell compared to the "competition".

 

[Skoal]

I am warning already since months that Apple is getting itself in deep sh*t and even if macrumors is apple fanboy heaven, folks need to start acknowledge the realities!
In nearly all product categories Apple is showing sales declines (ipad, iphone and apple watch) and even their financial data is reflecting this trend. I said before multiple times, that Apple has peaked in the broadest sense (sales, innovation, novality, brand, image etc).
Looking back at Apple's last keynote its a total reflection of Apple's current state and if they don't deliver big time this year on software at WWDC and hardware, they will lose a lot of (loyal) customers this year... Including me!

By the way, please stop defending Apple's lack of "awesomeness" lately... There is no reason that the Mac Pro, MBP and iMac (incl Mac mini) cannot be updated more aggressively and faster and looking at the competition, the latest smartphones coming from LG/HTC/Samsung are simply put great products and ahead of the iphone!
Looking what Microsoft is doing in the past 12 months with windows 10 and the whole Surface product line, we are seeing good innovation at the competition... Not at Apple! Releasing a product with upgraded specs and a new color is NOT innovation!

Windows 10? The surface? Innovation? Please seriously!

 

[Skoal]

I usually don't get into discussions with people that classify anyone who disagrees with them as fanboy.
That word almost triggers a anti-racism-like response from me and shows hugely disrespectful attitude from the start.


Same fallacy, more pretentious wording.

The market is maturing. The early majority is coming up, and that makes the market share decline. It was to be expected and will always be this way in a new market. They don't need market share dominance: the need a market and found out the early adopters are a good and profitable market.

Couldn't agree more!

Classifying anyone who disagrees with an opinion that Apple is in the dumper as a fanboy etc is a weak baiting tactic used to make oneself feel their opinion is somehow more relevant. It puts anyone who has an optimistic view of Apple as blinded by a logo and incapable of rational thought. It's quite immature!

 

[Skoal]

AW is a flop. Sorry guys, it is what it is. Doesn't move the needle. Not a drop in the bucket for Apple. No one was saying that about the iPhone after its first year. NO ONE. How long before apple pulls the plug on this?

Who's claiming the watch needs to be anywhere close to the runaway hit the iPhone has been? No one!

Apple TV has never been a runaway hit yet they are improving every gen and more people own them than ever.

 

[braintumor]

Windows 10? The surface? Innovation? Please seriously!

I hated MS also in the past and that was the biggest reason why I moved to Apple 10 years ago. But if you try to be neutral and honest for a second, since Steve Ballmer left MS and Satya Nadella took over, MS took a drastic turn for the better...
Windows 10 is the first proper OS that can function as a hybrid OS (= desktop and mobile OS) very well, intuitively and productively! This is definitely the future and while iOS and OSX are slowly growing together, MS is miles ahead on this front!
That is where we come to the Surface Pro, looking purely at the hardware, its nothing special but combined with Windows 10, it is a true ipad pro killer (if you want a true productive machine that can replace your laptop).
On the apple side, if the ipad pro had some kind of hybrid OS, then I would buy a 12.9" ipad pro in a heartbeat and possibly use it 80% of the time.
Now apple has two products, the ipad pro & the macbook, which looking at the hardware performance are very similar, the major difference is the software. Why can apple not offer 1 device (in a 12" ipad pro form factor with a proper type-cover + touchpad) that lets you use both software platforms in form of a hybrid OS??? It cannot be so hard for apple to do this and it could become the true entry level laptop replacement!!!
Then another great step forward from MS is the concept of the lumia combined with the surface dock (with windows 10) to be able to access a desktop environment from your phone!! Nowadays smartphones are becoming so powerful, why should it not be possible to use the smartphone as a basic desktop platform if needed? Its a great idea and it will be definitely something that we will see more and more in the future with phones becoming more and more powerful!
On this front we don't see anything happening at Apple, while we are getting a lot of hints that Google is developing in the same direction as MS.

Its not only MS, but also looking at Google, they are also on certain areas miles ahead of Apple and developing with an extrem pace.

Don't get me wrong, Apple still builds high-quality hardware, but in the end it comes down to the software, because that is what makes you work faster and more productive and Apple is losing on the software front in a lot of areas recently. Looking at Final Cut Pro or Logic Pro or Aperture etc etc... they used to be the go to software/platform for the professionals for a long time, but things have changed drastically!
[doublepost=1462242787][/doublepost]

Apple TV has never been a runaway hit yet they are improving every gen and more people own them than ever.

It might never had the numbers as the iphone (steve jobs called this a "hobby" project with lots of potential), but it was meant as an accessory for iOS devices (and later also OSX) and at a price point of $69 - 199 its also reasonable priced for an accessory.
On the other hand, IMO opinion the watch is still an accessory for the iphone (maybe that will change in the future), but at a starting price of $299 its way too expensive!

I would potentially buy an apple watch, since it can be useful at certain times, but I would not pay more then $150 for an accessory device which I need to charge on a daily basis and I might only really need 20% of the time and will need to be replaced after 2-4 years. Its not worth it for me!

And if I want a piece of jewelry I rather buy a proper mechanical watch that is timeless like my Tag Heuer Monaco LS. A smartwatch (no matter from which company) will never be timeless and will get out of fashion as soon the newest version gets released, thats not how jewelry works!

 

[joelank]

would love a rounded design ..

 

[MisterK]

And yet the Swiss watch industry managed to do this quite well, to the tune of $24 billion in sales in 2014.

Some are estimating that Apple outsold all of Rolex last year with their single AppleWatch. If that's true (or even close) then things may not be so dire for Apple.

 

[rjohnstone]

Some are estimating that Apple outsold all of Rolex last year with their single AppleWatch. If that's true (or even close) then things may not be so dire for Apple.

Out sold how? Volume? That's easy to do. Profits? Doubt it.
Rolex is not a high volume seller.

 

[blackcrayon]

I guess people haven't figure out why they shouldn't pay for $100 for a glorified stylus and an extra $100 for a keyboard to go with their iPad.

Heh "glorified stylus", I guess a BMW M3 is a "glorified go kart".
The Pencil is one case where it's arguably the best drawing/writing experience for portable computers in the market. I'd rather it be $10, but I'm willing to pay within reason for a great product.

 

[American Hero]

Heh "glorified stylus", I guess a BMW M3 is a "glorified go kart".
The Pencil is one case where it's arguably the best drawing/writing experience for portable computers in the market. I'd rather it be $10, but I'm willing to pay within reason for a great product.

Are you really comparing a car to a stylus?

A difference between a BMW and a go kart is much greater than the difference between a $20 stylus and a $100 stylus.

 

[Scorpion67]

Nothing surprising here. The Apple watch is definitely one of the ugliest, laggiest and most overpriced smartwatches out there.

 

[uid15]

Make it faster.
Throw in gps.

[doublepost=1462448678][/doublepost]

I hated MS also in the past and that was the biggest reason why I moved to Apple 10 years ago. But if you try to be neutral and honest for a second, since Steve Ballmer left MS and Satya Nadella took over, MS took a drastic turn for the better...
Windows 10 is the first proper OS that can function as a hybrid OS (= desktop and mobile OS) very well, intuitively and productively! This is definitely the future and while iOS and OSX are slowly growing together, MS is miles ahead on this front!
That is where we come to the Surface Pro, looking purely at the hardware, its nothing special but combined with Windows 10, it is a true ipad pro killer (if you want a true productive machine that can replace your laptop).
On the apple side, if the ipad pro had some kind of hybrid OS, then I would buy a 12.9" ipad pro in a heartbeat and possibly use it 80% of the time.
Now apple has two products, the ipad pro & the macbook, which looking at the hardware performance are very similar, the major difference is the software. Why can apple not offer 1 device (in a 12" ipad pro form factor with a proper type-cover + touchpad) that lets you use both software platforms in form of a hybrid OS??? It cannot be so hard for apple to do this and it could become the true entry level laptop replacement!!!
Then another great step forward from MS is the concept of the lumia combined with the surface dock (with windows 10) to be able to access a desktop environment from your phone!! Nowadays smartphones are becoming so powerful, why should it not be possible to use the smartphone as a basic desktop platform if needed? Its a great idea and it will be definitely something that we will see more and more in the future with phones becoming more and more powerful!
On this front we don't see anything happening at Apple, while we are getting a lot of hints that Google is developing in the same direction as MS.

Its not only MS, but also looking at Google, they are also on certain areas miles ahead of Apple and developing with an extrem pace.

Don't get me wrong, Apple still builds high-quality hardware, but in the end it comes down to the software, because that is what makes you work faster and more productive and Apple is losing on the software front in a lot of areas recently. Looking at Final Cut Pro or Logic Pro or Aperture etc etc... they used to be the go to software/platform for the professionals for a long time, but things have changed drastically!
[doublepost=1462242787][/doublepost]
It might never had the numbers as the iphone (steve jobs called this a "hobby" project with lots of potential), but it was meant as an accessory for iOS devices (and later also OSX) and at a price point of $69 - 199 its also reasonable priced for an accessory.
On the other hand, IMO opinion the watch is still an accessory for the iphone (maybe that will change in the future), but at a starting price of $299 its way too expensive!

I would potentially buy an apple watch, since it can be useful at certain times, but I would not pay more then $150 for an accessory device which I need to charge on a daily basis and I might only really need 20% of the time and will need to be replaced after 2-4 years. Its not worth it for me!

And if I want a piece of jewelry I rather buy a proper mechanical watch that is timeless like my Tag Heuer Monaco LS. A smartwatch (no matter from which company) will never be timeless and will get out of fashion as soon the newest version gets released, thats not how jewelry works!

You need to give that poor keyboard a rest. No sane person is gonna read all that.

 

[kdarling]

Are you really comparing a car to a stylus?

A difference between a BMW and a go kart is much greater than the difference between a $20 stylus and a $100 stylus.

He's right, they're not anywhere near the same thing.

Apple's Pencil is not a stylus. (A stylus is a dumb pointing stick meant to emulate a finger.)

It's an active pen, similar to Wacom or N-trig pens used in drawing tablets, Samsung phablets, MS Surface tablets, etc.

Unlike a stylus, a pen has electronics to aid in determining its precise location, pressure, tilt and other drawing attributes. They also allow the host tablet to reject palms since those are still using the capacitive touch screen, whereas the pens are using a second dedicated radio coordinate grid underneath the touchscreen.

So, okay, if you don't like go-kart and BMW, how about a manual bicycle (stylus) versus a powered motorcycle (pen)

 

[American Hero]

He's right, they're not anywhere near the same thing.

Apple's Pencil is not a stylus. (A stylus is a dumb pointing stick meant to emulate a finger.)

It's an active pen, similar to Wacom or N-trig pens used in drawing tablets, Samsung phablets, MS Surface tablets, etc.

Unlike a stylus, a pen has electronics to aid in determining its precise location, pressure, tilt and other drawing attributes. They also allow the host tablet to reject palms since those are still using the capacitive touch screen, whereas the pens are using a second dedicated radio coordinate grid underneath the touchscreen.

So, okay, if you don't like go-kart and BMW, how about a manual bicycle (stylus) versus a powered motorcycle (pen)

The Apple Pen is still overpriced at $100.

http://www.shopandroid.com/samsung-s-pen/16A44A22419A.htm

 

[kdarling]

The Apple Pen is still overpriced at $100.

http://www.shopandroid.com/samsung-s-pen/16A44A22419A.htm

It's from Apple. Of course it's high priced. It's all that unicorn dust sprinkled on it

However, to be fair, Samsung is using Wacom technology, which means their pen does not need a battery, since it's powered by the hidden coordinate grid. So it can be smaller, lighter, cheaper.

Apple apparently did not want to license that critical patent from Wacom.

 

[samcraig]

It's from Apple. Of course it's high priced. It's all that unicorn dust sprinkled on it

However, to be fair, Samsung is using Wacom technology, which means their pen does not need a battery, since it's powered by the hidden coordinate grid. So it can be smaller, lighter, cheaper.

Apple apparently did not want to license that critical patent from Wacom.

They rarely do

 

[uid15]

The Apple Pen is still overpriced at $100.

http://www.shopandroid.com/samsung-s-pen/16A44A22419A.htm

Find the sensible option:

#1: You need one, buy one and use it.

#2: You don't need one, and complain about the price.


The artist is way too caught up in the enjoyment of a tool that enables them, and couldn't care less about the paltry £100 expenditure, since it's a tool to create with (and since £100 is chicken feed.)

There's a very good reason iPad Pro is called that - it's a creative tool for professionals who do work, not a giant Netflix screen. The people who look at it from the perspective of a non creative person, are missing the point. If you've got a $20,000 commissioned project and iPad Pro makes it 10x easier to complete, the purchase is a simple, pragmatic decision. Yes it is big, but unless you need big and the capabilities, you don't buy one; you're very unlikely their target market.

What else is a professional artist going to draw or paint with - their FINGER?

 

[American Hero]

If you've got a $20,000 commissioned project and iPad Pro makes it 10x easier to complete, the purchase is a simple, pragmatic decision.

I agree with you there. If you're a guy who makes $500,000 a year doing whatever you do, and it requires the use of a "pencil/stylus" then the $100 item isn't a big deal. There are people who would like to utilize the bigger iPad screen and be able to draw with it though.. For example, kids while they're in the car so they have something to occupy them for the long ride ahead.
[doublepost=1462458283][/doublepost]

Apple apparently did not want to license that critical patent from Wacom.

Of course not.

 

[maxsix]

Apple Watch will continue to delight Apple Devotees.

Market share will continue to fade simply because it's OS is the weak link. But that's not a problem. There's always a place for Apple.

Android AND Android Wear are getting better and better. The fact that it's an open welcoming system is to Googles advantage.