Apple Watch Loses Market Share as Android Wear Grows in Popularity

[macduke]

Well, a drop off in sales is to be expected from a company that updates most of their products on yearly cycles. I haven't spent much time with the competition, but the Apple Watch is often slow and/or laggy. Make it faster, make the display easier to read outdoors (especially on SS models), and modify the design. Watches are always visible, so some people are probably more willing to upgrade for a new look they can show off. Not saying I'm this way, because I'm not, but many people are.

Something like FaceTime is superfluous, but might add a wow factor that people can show off. However, a front-facing camera with a wide angle lens could make for a decent selfie cam. I'm sure there is a segment of the population that would love being able to quickly share selfies on Snapchat and Instagram using the Watch alone. Quickly responding to snaps could be a big selling point for teens and young adults.

For me, some more RAM and graphics capability combined with a faster BT uplink would make using things like glances a lot more pleasing. I hardly ever use glances because it's so laggy to flip through them and they often take way too long to load—which kinda goes against the whole point of a glance. It would be nice if the Watch could periodically update those in the background like complications, but somehow do it without reducing battery life. Or at least have the data request queued up on the iPhone, ready to send. Maybe if they sent everything in packet bursts at set intervals that would minimize battery usage? They also need to rethink their button design/placement/software. Gruber has been posting some interesting takes on that lately, and it does need some work. I hardly ever use the home screen to pick an app, and when I do it often opens the wrong app and I don't even have fat fingers. Lastly, they need to work on the Taptic Engine. IDK if I'm just getting used to it or what, but it seems softer over time and I have a hard time noticing it now. It's like it's not as "crisp" as it once was.

I'm undecided on whether I'll upgrade to AW2. It's kinda pricey, especially as I've committed to keeping the first-gen model like I did with the original iPhone and iPad. But if the AW is going to be on 18 month cycles then I might, as I'm not sure if I could put up with this slower model through spring 2018. It's bearable, and it's convenient to glance at alerts or complications like weather, but trying to access data on it isn't faster—and I might even say much slower—than just pulling out my iPhone. Here's to hoping the difference between AW and AW2 is the same as the difference between the iPad and iPad 2.

 

[Elbon]

I'm honestly shocked that ANYONE is buying the Apple Watch. It's super nerdy-looking. And, from what I've read in the comment threads here at MR, not particularly useful.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

iPhone sales are declining, now Apple Watch sales are declining so soon, and Mac Sales are steady if not slightly declining. I must say, Tim Cook is doing a fine job running Apple.

Apple makes $1B profit every 8 days. I think they'll be alright. Released years after Steve's death Apple Watch has ~4x market share of nearest competitor. I think it's a great 1st gen smartwatch product. It could have been far worse. It's beautiful, fashion friendly and just has some minor issues to be addressed over time. First iPhone had no home screens or App Store or copy/paste. First iPod had no clickwheel. Steve wasn't Jesus.

 

[jumanji]

Make it cheaper.

Problem solved.

this is spot on. i have one. i like it but it's not worth $300 more than other alternatives out there. the iphone was a luxury item at first. i guess apple thinks this is. the technology right now is all the same. there is nothing in the apple watch that makes it a gamechanger. just lower the price and it will sell more.

 

[jamezr]

Going by the estimated sales figures it's safe to say the vast majority of people are not into wearables yet.

Yep.... I think they just don't offer enough functionality in an easy intuitive way yet.

 

[NufSaid]

I am waiting for version 2 and will buy it sight unseen.

First edition of a product is often not ideal from any company.

Headline should read - Apple loses marketshare to other companies who are giving their watch away...meanwhile...they continue to make money.

(The Samsung watches were being included like forever at our local AT&T store - odd thing is on black Friday they had a bunch for $1 with a new phone and it took them days to unload them)

 

[apolloa]

Would sir like to buy this lovely wrist worn device that mimicks sirs mobile phone for $1000?

Yeah theirs a reason sales are dropping, Tag would never have made a smart Watch if Apple didn't and charge so much for it, as for the Edition Apple watches! How many of those have they sold? Five?
You have a screw loose if you spend $12000 on a watch with internals made for $5 on a Chinese sweat shop production line.

I think the cheaper watches make better sense, Apple should look into that market, many still claim the Sony Smart Watch 3 as one of the best and that's dirt cheap now in some places. In the UK they should start the Apple Watch sport from £180, not the £259 it currently does.

It would also be nice if someone made an Android Wear band or if Apple made one.

 

[NIKKG]

I chose the Asus Zenwatch 2 over the Apple Watch for two reasons: $150 from Best Buy for the Zenwatch 2 and I can use it on both Android and iPhone. The problem with Apple Watch, other than being more expensive, is that it is locked down to the iPhone only. They need to open it up to the Android users too and not leave them out. I currently have an iphone 6s+, but in case I make a switch to another brand, I don't want to throw away my watch because I can't use it on Android.

 

[BruceEBonus]

Logic and reason doesn't always apply. Despite the iPhone being a bit of a clunker compared to its competitors now, people still seem to want to hang on to the operating system that hasn't changed in looks for nearly a decade now. Familiarity seems to come before common sense. I spent a few days in London recently and on the tube the majority of people using mobiles seemed to be on iPhones. Despite Apple being lazy for the last three years the effects of that is only being reflected in falling sales after all this time. And despite myself defecting to Samsung a year ago after cottoning on that Apple has lost its magic ..
I did miss the convenience of IOS features which attracted me to the iPhone at its original inception in 2007 but after a while you do realise that there is another OS out there and even if Android is by no means perfect it's overtaking IOS and features now and maybe the buying public are finally accepting that. As I've said before, September 2016 is make or break time for Apple ..
If they bring out a "proper" new phone and not just updates on the old shell they'll make it for a few more years but if not then yes. They will decline. And considering that's only 5 months away I'm not optimistic. But. I could be proved wrong yet.

 

[OneMike]

Make it cheaper.

Problem solved.

That's a good start

 

[ksnell]

Needs some new bands and an event.

Should mark as sarcastic otherwise Apple might think you are serious!!!

 

[American Hero]

Apple makes $1B profit every 8 days. I think they'll be alright. Released years after Steve's death Apple Watch has ~4x market share of nearest competitor. I think it's a great 1st gen smartwatch product. It could have been far worse. It's beautiful, fashion friendly and just has some minor issues to be addressed over time. First iPhone had no home screens or App Store or copy/paste. First iPod had no clickwheel. Steve wasn't Jesus.

Guess you didn't read the rest of my post where it mentioned how Apple is still making huge profits.

Also, the Apple Watches' market share is -11% year over year, I'd rather not call that a success.

 

[roland.g]

A smaller piece (percentage) of a bigger pie isn't necessarily a bad thing.

or...

100% of nothing is still nothing, but 70% of 10,000,000 is 7,000,000.

Exactly. It is a growing market. If the market as a whole sold 3m units in 2015 but will sell 10m units in 2016, market share doesn't mean so much. Their numbers are still growing. This is too new of a product type to use market share instead of total sales as a measuring stick. What a useless article.

 

[npmacuser5]

Needs new faces, and/or support for third party faces.

Why, no one sees the face except the user. 98% of time the watch face is black. I have Apple Watch and the watch faces are very functional. Traditional watch faces defined the watch to both the user and others. Not so with the smart watches, unless one goes around tipping their watch to show others. Just saying.

 

[chugg]

Even if it were cheaper, the thing is still hideous. The rectangular Casio calculator-watch design is awful.

 

[techwhiz]

Guess you didn't read the rest of my post where it mentioned how Apple is still making huge profits.

Also, the Apple Watches' market share is -11% year over year, I'd rather not call that a success.

It's called saturation.
Initial uptake, then leveling out.
People aren't going to dump them like they do phones.

 

[macdragonfl]

The biggest issue is price. Apple always on first gen products charge more, then usually adjusts price. It was adjusted but still need some work sport 38mm should be $199.00 42mm 249.00. Stainless $329.00 38mm $399.00 42mm. Sport bands $34.99, milanese $79.00, leather loops $79.00, modern buckles $99.00, stainless bands $189.00.

 

[Blakjack]

I would feed into these stats too much.

Other than one of my co-workers who has been wearing his since last year, I haven't seen an android wear watch since last year in person.

Apple watches are everywhere in Tallahassee. And when I say everywhere, I mean everywhere. I've only seen myself and maybe three other people wearing the stainless steel though.

After one year, I can honestly say I've seen double the amount of Apple watches in Tallahassee than I did when the 1st gen iPhone was released after one year.

The only reason I would see watch sales slow is if iPhone sales slow.

 

[philpalmiero]

Make the 42mm the same price as the 38mm. Except for the gold version I can't see how it costs that much more to make the 42mm. This is just gender discrimination.

 

[Essenar]

This doesn't have to be that difficult.
Android Wear: Can use even if you have an iPhone or hell, in some cases even a Windows Phone. Edit: I think I'm wrong about the Windows phone, but still having iPhone and Android support is a clear victory.
Apple Watch: Have to have an iPhone on your person.
Android Wear: Can in some cases be used without a physical device. Can access WiFi networks to provide you with some updates.
Apple Watch: Have to have an iPhone on your person.
Android Wear: Many different shapes and sizes.
Apple Watch: You mean the $10,000 one just has a shinier surface than the $300 one? Okay.

They took a gamble, that their name would be important enough that people were willing to play by these massive restrictions in order to use "the Apple one", because they wanted the sales of the Apple Watch to be synonymous with iPhone sales. The problem with that is that even avid Apple users, like myself (MacBook Pro 15" Retina, iPhone, iPad Mini 4) wouldn't touch an Apple Watch with a 10 foot pole because needing to have my iPhone on me literally defeats 95% of the purpose of me even having a smart watch. It's not even smart, it just relays smart stuff to me.

I was looking forward to the Apple Watch, and ready to drop $600 on one, if it had the right look and feel and was an independent device.
I figured, make it work on WiFi and allow it to tether from your iPhone's data when it's nearby. That'd be perfect for the office or for gym.

Instead, literally anywhere I go where the watch would serve better, I have to have my iPhone in my pocket anyway, so what's the point, really? There's no point. Not ONE of you can convince me otherwise. I will never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever EVER, EVER pay money to buy a watch that needs my phone to be around to work.

I don't even have a smartwatch yet. I keep hoping Apple will wake up and be like "Yeah, actually, that was pretty stupid of us, let's make the next one work with basic services like iMessage, Mail, data driven apps and music on WiFi" but Apple hasn't been waking up a lot lately, instead they've been putting themselves into a deeper coma with me by doing things like releasing some marginal upgrade to the 12" MacBook that still doesn't give it one more USB-C port (good luck charging your MacBook or even using it if your USB-C port fails, have a LOT of fun with that) or all the hints that the next 15" MacBook will be like the 12" MacBook (good luck selling me one of those for $2000, I'll deal with an atrocious Linux OS and using a VM of OSX to upload my development distributions to iTunes Connect before I pay $2000 for a 'Pro' notebook that has one port and a paper feeling keyboard).
We'll see what happens at WWDC, but I'm honestly losing hope with this company and fast.

 

[philpalmiero]

While I avoided the keyboard like the plague, I didn't have much choice on the stylus. The Pencil provides the best drawing experience I've ever had on a consumer device. It totally destroys the Samsung S-Pens I've had, and is better than the old Wacom tablet I had and the n-trig tech in the SP4. Yeah it is overpriced, but there is no alternative. It is a lot less painful paying the Apple Tax when you get something nice in return.

Please share how you use the stylus. Pictures, art, note taking, or forms?

 

[maflynn]

Competition is catching up and like most things, the competitors offer similar products for less. That will certainly drive some customers away from Apple.

 

[philpalmiero]

Big venue for WWDC. Let's see what Macs they introduce. If you don't think they've thinner MBPs, new Mac Pros and new 5K displays in the works you're out of your mind. Wouldn't surprise me if the EOL Mac mini however.

I agree but what will the internal specs be? Just incremental or real value for your money.

 

[hiddenmarkov]

Needs to support android OS....

Bunch of other smart device makers aren't picky. They will play with anybody to varying degrees. When you go proprietary you will hit walls.

Gee, I like the apple watch but I like my android phone. Android phone liked more (everyone has their tastes)...no watch sale. Other place to go to that will play nice with their android.

 

[Snoopy4]

This is what happens when you make a product that only a small portion of your customer base is even remotely interested in. Its called do some market research and listen to those customers. Same applies to AppleTV.

If you can't handle that Apple, don't make the product. You're starting to look like the 1990's all over again with the stupid. Remember, that was where you thought you knew it all but didn't and got destroyed.