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Apple Watch Shipments Could Reach 15 Million in 2017

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Overall Apple Watch shipments are expected to rise to 4.5 million units in the fourth quarter of this year and could reach 15 million for the whole of 2017, according to sources in the upstream supply chain (via DigiTimes).

Those predictions bode well for Apple as it prepares to launch its third-generation smartwatch, but the figures stand in stark contrast to other vendors of wearable devices, who are seeing increasingly weakening demand.

apple-watch-trio.jpg

Xiaomi and Fitbit are both experiencing dropping sales for their current smartwatch ranges, while wearable shipments from Samsung, LG, Huawei, and Motorola remain weak overall. Asustek has already decided to leave the market completely and Intel has been cutting staff and R&D resources involved in its wearable platforms.

High prices, weak battery life, overlapping functionalities with smartphones, and poorly integrated ecosystems are among the reasons cited for the less-than-impressive demand for rival wearables.

Meanwhile Apple's smartwatch continues to ride a wave of popularity, with supply chain sources expecting Apple Watch volume to rise to up to 20 million units in 2018. By contrast the first-generation Apple Watch shipped less than 5 million units in 2015, while the second-generation model has maintained strong sales since its launch in September 2016.

Set to launch next month, the Apple Watch Series 3 is said to be coming in both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + LTE models in 38mm and 42mm sizes, according to KGI securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo reckons the cellular-enabled model will have an embedded SIM, but it might support VoIP calling only. Apple Watch Series 3 models will also reportedly have improved performance and longer battery life.

Rumors of a design change for the third-generation watch can't be confirmed, but it's possible some small tweaks to the form factor could be revealed in September, alongside new iPhones and possibly a 4K-capable Apple TV.

Article Link: Apple Watch Shipments Could Reach 15 Million in 2017
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/08/18/apple-watch-shipments-15-million-in-2017/
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What other competition is really against the Apple Watch? Pebble is out, Android wear seems distant and not overly popular, Fitbit lacks style and seems stagnant at the moment. It's Not shocking the overall success of the Apple Watch and Series 3 will Continue to improve the capabilities further, hopefully with more health related sensors, which I think is the strongest atttibute the Watch has besides the notifications and band changing.
 
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For something that only works on iPhone, it's quite amazing.
Meanwhile, Google doesn't even have a clear vision on what Android Wear is going. My 2nd gen Moto 360 released in 2015 is already abandoned last year (last security patch was October 2016). With Samsung pursuing their own solution with the insecure Tizen, Apple is becoming the de-facto smartwatch choice.
 
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pika2000 said:
Apple is becoming the de-facto smartwatch choice.
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Naturally, the Apple Watch would be the primary choice if you had an iPhone. I think the Gear S3 is the strongest Smart Watch competitor against the Apple Watch in terms of hardware. But I will say that Samsung has a Watch face Store that has a loads of watch faces to choose from to better the customization. The Apple Watch desperately needs more watch faces to allow for more user customization. I Would like to see Apple make this available to developers to further the Watch experience. The band switching is already executed perfectly with the Apple Watch.
 
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Relentless Power said:
Naturally, the Apple Watch would be the primary choice if you had an iPhone. I think the Gear S3 is the strongest Smart Watch competitor against the Apple Watch in terms of hardware. But I will say that Samsung has a Watch face Store that has a loads of watch faces to choose from to better the customization. The Apple Watch desperately needs more watch faces to allow for more user customization. I Would like to see Apple make this available to developers to further the Watch experience. The band switching is already executed perfectly with the Apple Watch.
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I feel like the biggest reason for no watch face store is that apple partners with existing watch manufacturers to use their watch faces on exclusive versions of the AW. They would likely lose those deals if a random dev could make those faces in the store available freely.
 
I love my Apple Watch, especially for fitness activities- but it's a subset, niche market and I expect it will remain that way. Where my entire family has iPhones, only myself and my brother have the watch. It's an extra layer of Apple fandom most people don't concern themselves with. My parents wear his/her Omegas, my wife fancies her faux rose gold Macy's specials, etc... it's still more Casio than Omega I think, even though texts on the wrist is incredible.
 
My series 0 has helped up fairly well, though I'm surprised at the volume of sales that is being reported. I'm not complaining, just surprised. Of course it seems my series 0 battery is starting to show signs of it wearing down as the battery doesn't last
 
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It's clear that the market for cheap, dedicated fitness trackers is imploding. And to think there are actually people here who think that Apple should compete with Xiaomi and Fitbit and release cheap fitness trackers which generate next to no profit.
 
maflynn said:
My series 0 has helped up fairly well, though I'm surprised at the volume of sales that is being reported. I'm not complaining, just surprised. Of course it seems my series 0 battery is starting to show signs of it wearing down as the battery doesn't last
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My 38mm series 0 battery got a boost with watchOS 3 and I was satisfied. But the OS4 betas have tortured the battery making it not lasting 12 hrs. Very latest beta ok though and now closer to OS3 battery life. Regardless I am counting on getting a 42mm of series 3 of some sorts..
 
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DempaX said:
My 38mm series 0 battery got a boost with watchOS 3
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I'm on the latest version of watch OS 3, and yeah when it came out, I saw a nice bump. Now the watch is barely lasting a full day of usage. Many times its around 10% by 10:00pm
 
DempaX said:
My 38mm series 0 battery got a boost with watchOS 3 and I was satisfied. But the OS4 betas have tortured the battery making it not lasting 12 hrs. Very latest beta ok though and now closer to OS3 battery life. Regardless I am counting on getting a 42mm of series 3 of some sorts..
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My S2 battery is nowhere near the WatchOS 3 levels with the current betas. Hopefully it will change
 
Relentless Power said:
It's Not shocking the overall success of the Apple Watch and Series 3 will Continue to improve the capabilities further, hopefully with more health related sensors, which I think is the strongest atttibute the Watch has besides the notifications and band changing.
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As much as we love to make fun of Apple's watch-band obsession here on MR, I think it's a big part of the appeal for the Apple Watch with many people outside of the hard-core geek crowd.

If you're going to be wearing something all day, and not keeping it hidden in a pocket most of the time, it matters a lot to be able to make it visibly "yours". The different watch materials are a good start, but that's still quite limited. But with the huge array of band options it's actually incredibly rare to see two people with the same Apple watch/band combo. And I live in London, so yes, I do see plenty of them. ;)
 
I think the only thing stopping me from buying one is that spotify is not available for it. Once they offer that it’s an ideal addition for my running excercises
 
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I was originally a skeptical guy. I still not in love with the design but the workout feature has been what made me abandon my Omega Seamaster (Use only for social ocasions). I have been motivate to workout more due the data and features. That alone makes it worth IMO. Good job Apple.
 
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Sunny1990 said:
Shipments are Pretty much impressive. Cracks me up how some call it a flop.
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Flop is relative. There's a billion iPhones out there. There's maybe 30 million watches according to this article.

Compared to the competition, the Apple Watch is a massive success. Any company would be thrilled with the profits. But many enthusiasts and analysts claimed Apple was selling 20-30 million watches it's first year. Yet two years later this article suggests much less, and doesn't indicate how many are unique purchases for new users, and not just upgrades in terms of expanding its base.

Over a billion iPhones, around 30 million watches, which can only be used with iPhones. Not a great ratio for adoption for its potential market.
 
Sunny1990 said:
Shipments are Pretty much impressive. Cracks me up how some call it a flop.
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What about when some label it a 'gimmick'? Would that constitute the same terms as a "Flop" based on numbers or just personal opinion.? The reason I ask is I recall a discussion I had with you about the Apple Watch while back. Genuinely curious, Did you change your mind here now that Pebble no longer exists?

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ion-through-2017.2021814/page-2#post-24074331
 
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Aml216 said:
It has made me happy to continue to see more and more people purchasing and using Apple Watches!
I remember when I got the “gen 0” at release, hardly anyone had one.
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The first generation Apple Watch launch was off the charts in April 2015. Pre-orders within the first few minutes were already booking out past July to even receive certain models. I placed my order within two minutes when the site when was ready, and I already had a late May delivery. I remember when some were even receiving their deliveries as late as August, four months past when the Apple Watch first launched. But a lot of customers were not happy with the launch and stock was severely undermined.
 
Relentless Power said:
The first generation Apple Watch launch was off the charts in April 2015. Pre-orders within the first few minutes were already booking out past July to even receive certain models. I placed my order within two minutes when the site when was ready, and I already had a late May delivery. I remember when some were even receiving their deliveries as late as August, four months past when the Apple Watch first launched. But a lot of customers were not happy with the launch and stock was severely undermined.
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I remember having to wait a month to get mine, so I hear that!
I agree the pre-orders were crazy, but I still didn’t see many where I am, or where I frequent. I remember no one at the gym had one before. Now everyone has them at the gyms I frequent in my area. Also went to Kaiser the other day (just had my first kid, yay!) and 40-50% of the staff were wearing Apple Watches. It’s nice to see :)
 
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While relatively few Watch-capable iPhone owners are getting one, current sales are not bad at about 5% of iPhone buyers. Very similar to Apple Pay adoption.

(Although it's not like iPhone owners have any real choice when it comes to a fully compatible watch... Apple has made sure of that by doing what Microsoft used to do: keep the tightest integration APIs to themselves.)

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The bigger question to me is: how many end up in a drawer somewhere? Historically speaking, about half of smartwatches end up not being used after about six months. People forget to charge them, bring a charger, etc, and eventually fall out of the habit.

I'd love to see a survey to find out if Apple has beat the normal odds on long term user adoption.
 
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