Apple Watch Sales Falling Continuously Amid Lack of New Models

[MacRumors]

Apple's global smartwatch shipments declined by 19% year-over-year in 2024, marking the company's second consecutive annual drop and the fifth straight quarter of falling sales, according to new data from Counterpoint Research.

According to Counterpoint's Global Smartwatch Shipment Tracker for the fourth quarter of 2024, Apple experienced shipment declines in all major regions except India. The most significant drop occurred in North America, which accounts for more than half of Apple Watch shipments globally.

The report identifies multiple contributing factors behind the sustained downturn. Chief among them is the absence of a new Apple Watch SE model, which has historically served as Apple's most popular smartwatch in terms of volume during post-launch periods. The last SE model came out in the third quarter of 2022 and its continued absence throughout 2024 is cited as a key driver of weakened shipment growth.

The Apple Watch Series 10 was released in 2024, offering "fewer substantial upgrades" over its predecessor, which reduced consumer incentive to upgrade. The model was affected by ongoing legal issues in the United States, where Apple was required to remove the blood oxygen sensor feature from affected units due to patent litigation.

The lack of an Apple Watch Ultra 3 model in 2024 is also a contributing factor. The Apple Watch Ultra line had previously accounted for over 10% of Apple Watch shipments globally, but its share dropped to under 8% in the fourth quarter of 2024 in the absence of a new model. Counterpoint noted that this decline contributed measurably to Apple's overall shipment losses in the advanced smartwatch category, where Apple's market share fell by 8% points year-over-year.

Despite the contraction in shipments, Apple continues to dominate the advanced smartwatch segment by unit volume. However, the recent declines mark a reversal from earlier years of growth. According to previous Counterpoint data, Apple Watch shipments increased by 27% in 2021. In 2022, growth stalled and the company reported zero percent year-over-year change. This was followed by a 10% decline in 2023, which nearly doubled in scale in 2024.

The downturn coincides with stronger performance from rival smartwatch manufacturers. While Apple's global shipments contracted, all other major vendors in the advanced smartwatch category saw year-over-year growth, according to the report.

Rumors suggest that Apple is preparing to release a third-generation Apple Watch SE with a revamped design and potentially a lower price point, an Apple Watch Series 11 with new health monitoring capabilities and 5G connectivity, and an Apple Watch Ultra 3 with satellite connectivity. The new models should launch in the fall, likely alongside the iPhone 17 lineup.

Article Link: Apple Watch Sales Falling Continuously Amid Lack of New Models

 

[abatabia]

To me the AW hasn’t had a truly compelling update in many years. Like the iPad and the iPhone no reason to update more often than every few years. Maybe even more so with the AW.

 

[SoldOnApple]

AW just inherently lasts longer, because as soon as it had always on display and a powerful enough processor, there's little reason to upgrade. Plenty of us are fine with just using it for notifications and telling the time, turning on fitness recording, basic stuff.

 

[bollman]

Also: There are still a few of us that has no interest in a watch, whatsoever, whatever the features.
The watch-crowd is smaller than the phone-crowd.

 

[Mactech20]

I still have an AW Series 7 and I haven't seen a single meaningful reason to upgrade. The jump from the Series 3 to 7 was huge.

 

[Roller]

Apple is going to have to add new health features like BP monitoring if they hope to spur sales. Some of these are difficult to do well, but it's hard to understand why they haven't at least brought back oxygen measurements by coming to an agreement with Masimo.

 

[airwalk331]

Someone gave me a series 8 and I want to like it but I just... can't get into it. Never been a watch person. I also just don't love the design. Aside from making the screen bigger, it's more or less looked the same since release. And yes, I understand I'm not the target audience for it.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

No surprises here....other than battery or damage, there is absolutely no reason to upgrade.

 

[HaHaRich!]

Interesting 🤔 the Series 10 is the first *real* physical update to the watch since the first gen; performance enhancements, feature creep, all welcome Quality of Life improvements, but I guess Apple didn’t do a good enough job market the fact that the OG mega hunk of metal on your forearm got massively slimmed down. If anyone internal was campaigning to call the 10 “Apple Watch Air” they must be feeling pretty vindicated right now 🤣

 

[mrat93]

Zero percent shocking. I used to upgrade nearly every year. I bought a Series 10 thinking it would be a worthwhile upgrade over my Series 7, and I ended up returning it and getting my S7 replaced under AppleCare The new screen/body/bezel ratio really turned me off. I don’t see a reason to upgrade until they stop supporting it with software, or they update the design again.

Same with iPhone. I’ve owned the newest every year since 2007, except iPhone 5, and now 16. I’m expecting to keep my 15 Pro a third year until they release a foldable.

 

[theredsoxman]

I upgraded a series 6 to an Ultra 2 just because the battery life was getting so bad. However, I was a bit conflicted when I did. Other than the battery life, there aren't any features in the new models that are "killer apps". In fact, I LOST my blood oxygen tracking, which has been very handy over the years.

I'm hoping to see blood pressure, blood sugar, or blood alcohol in the next few years. While I understand there are major engineering challenges, ANY of these would drive major sales.

 

[FSMBP]

I got booed for suggesting this, but if they did a smaller Ultra, I'd love to upgrade. I want a rugged watch but not one that is huge or have the screen size as the Ultra.

But they definitely need more features.

 

[EdwardC]

Have an old series 5, only bust it out when I go to the track or hiking. I personally don't like having to charge my watch every night so I went back to my trusty Casio G-Shock for everyday use.

 

[mazz0]

It's because the holes for the speaker aren't milled with sufficient precision.

 

[Valen1]

You want me to upgrade from my series 6, bring back pulse ox. Not going to buy a new one until that functionality is restored.

 

[TechRunner]

My son-in-law tried an AW and it's now gathering dust in a drawer while he wears a simple digital watch on his wrist. He simply didn't see the value in always being connected to his phone.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

I got booed for suggesting this, but if they did a smaller Ultra, I'd love to upgrade. I want a rugged watch but not one that is huge or have the screen size as the Ultra.

But they definitely need more features.

Same. I'm a very active person with a slim frame, and tough on my watches...but the Ultra is just too big for me; I don't like big chunky watches.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Why conclude they’re falling because of a lack of new models?

Like the phones, there is only so much you can do with a tiny pebble. People are keeping these devices for longer and that’s a great thing for the environment, wallets, and the needless thinking that everything has to be ‘updated’.

 

[mazz0]

Have an old series 5, only bust it out when I go to the track or hiking. I personally don't like having to charge my watch every night so I went back to my trusty Casio G-Shock for everyday use.

I don't particularly mind having to charge overnight*, but I do agree that's where the next big breakthrough is needed. And I do mean big. Having to charge every second night wouldn't really make any difference, you'd still need to take a charger any time you travel, and you might as well still be in the habit of charging each night. Make it last a week though, and then things change a bit.

*although it's annoying when I find it isn't charged in the morning because a cat knocked it off the charger.

 

[russell_314]

Well, there’s only so many customers out there. The market is saturated.

You can’t even tell the difference between an Apple Watch Series 6 and a Series 10. There goes the market of people who want to show off to their friends that they have the latest and greatest. At least with the iPhone, you can tell because they change the camera layout

 

[blairh]

We need a much larger screen. All the larger current models are essentially the same size for screen real estate. Give me something much larger and I'll upgrade happily.

 

[ayephoner]

To me the AW hasn’t had a truly compelling update in many years. Like the iPad and the iPhone no reason to update more often than every few years. Maybe even more so with the AW.

I agree. I have a series 7 and probably won't upgrade anytime soon. I guess if the 11 has blood pressure capabilities, I might get one, but I could easily wait for the 12 or 13.

 

[brauntj]

I won’t be buying one till they bring back blood oxygen monitoring. Buying anything now would be a downgrade feature-wise.

 

[I7guy]

I bought two Apple Watches this year. The Series 10 finally pushed me over the edge. In order for me to purchase again, some can’t live without functionality or my watch dies, would have to be included.

 

[Godspeed8230]

I previously owned the Apple Watch Series 3 and now have the Series 9. The main reasons I wear it are for activity tracking and making payments with Apple Wallet – paying with it is simply fantastic, travelling with my boarding ticket on my wrist is sweet and super convenient.
However, the lack of innovative features (outside of the whole sleep tracking- I just don't want to wear it while I sleep) and the limited selection of well-designed digital watch faces for the standard Apple Watch have made it less appealing to me over time.
What’s even more frustrating is the change in functions for the side button and Digital Crown compared to the Series 3, along with the introduction of the Smart Stack – I really dislike the new layout and find it less intuitive.

To be honest, I don't think I will buy a new Apple Watch unless they make significant changes to watchOS and they improve the battery life.