Apple Watch's Record-Breaking Quarter Was Opposite One of Fitbit's 'Largest Declines Ever'

[spacemnspiff]

Just wait until people realize that these watches last 3 years, not 50 years like other watches

What so special about the 'other' watches, every dumb metal bracelet can last for 50 years.

What's next, spew out that the bicycle will last for 50 years and I should stop driving my car.
Or I should use an old dial phone because it can last for 50 years and not use my iPhone.

The 'other' watches are nothing but dumb jewelry, have no other utility than an ornament. There is no comparison of the 'other' watches with the Apple Watch other than how it's worn and the form factor similarity.

 

[honglong1976]

Also, I am careful with my possessions but I have scratched the heck out of my watch screen despite best efforts to be careful when wearing it.

I had an Apple Watch sports. I work in IT and I never got a scratch on it in one year. So if you scratched the heck out of the watch screen, I would say you are not that careful with possessions.

 

[dogslobber]

Not sure why an always-on display is required? I couldn't think of anything worse, which makes your point number two redundant, as the battery tech doesn't exist to make that possible right now.

The Apple Watch isn't thick or chunky. When I am wearing a sweater or something long sleeved I have to check it's still on my wrist as I can't even feel it! I'm used to wearing things like a TAG Heuer Carrera on my wrist which is thicker & a lot heavier.

Let's see. Do regular battery operated watches have an always on display per the norm? Yes, they do so point one is *very* relevant. Even without that, having to charge a watch every night is unacceptable. Saying battery tech doesn't exist, again, isn't the right way to view this. The correct way to view this is to have Apple address each of the three issues and fix it. Consumers don't want to hear excuses for these glaring limitations if Apple expects people to buy it. Right now the Apple Watch is a piece of junk.

 

[smirking]

Fitbit can't do nearly as much as the Apple Watch. So this makes sense.

I think we saw the same thing with the Apple Watch too didn't we? After a year, everyone who wanted one had one and some by then had lost interest in it.

I have a Fitbit Blaze. It's ok. It does a few things well that I need it to do well. I mostly use mine for sleep and resting HR tracking. Ironically given its namesake, it's useless as an exercise tracker unless you only do low intensity exercise.

From what I've ready, the Apple Watch isn't so great either for higher intensity exercise. This shouldn't be surprising. There's only so much you can expect from a sensor that's trying to get your vitals from the back of your wrist. No wrist based fitness tracker did well in any real world tests involving moderate to high intensity exercise.

I'd love to move up to an Apple Watch, but the battery life in an Apple Watch make it very inconvenient as a sleep tracker.

 

[hexcalibur]

Man, you are doing better than me if $300 is throwaway money...

Really? How many smartphones, iPhone or otherwise, have you purchased in the last five years? How many laptops?

I wear my first-gen Apple Watch every day. In a couple more years I'll probably buy a new one because it will have better functionality. (I already covet the GPS and swimming-pool features of the 2nd-gen, but not enough to upgrade.) $500 is a non-trivial amount of money for me, but provided I get utility from a purchase (e.g. iPhone, MacBook) it's worth it.

If all you want is a timepiece, a $300 AW is a dumb purchase. For all the things it can do for you I think it's worth it.

 

[Lerxt]

The battery life on my Apple Watch is fine, it lasts two days with constant usage. My Fitbit Charge 2 is parked..

 

[Abazigal]

Let's see. Do regular battery operated watches have an always on display per the norm? Yes, they do so point one is *very* relevant. Even without that, having to charge a watch every night is unacceptable. Saying battery tech doesn't exist, again, isn't the right way to view this. The correct way to view this is to have Apple address each of the three issues and fix it. Consumers don't want to hear excuses for these glaring limitations if Apple expects people to buy it. Right now the Apple Watch is a piece of junk.

For you. Never forget that.

Why do I need my watch face to be on and lit if I am not looking at it?

There is a saying - you don't miss what you don't need. Regular battery-operated watches sport an always-on display because changing a small battery every few years is cheaper than developing the technology to implement "raise to wake" in every watch.

That doesn't mean those watches couldn't benefit from said tech, it's just not cost-efficient to implement.

I am charging my Apple Watch every night, and I don't find anything inconvenient or unacceptable about it. I bought my Series 2 Apple Watch with my eyes wide open, knowing fully well its strengths and limitations, and I am loving my iphone+airpods+apple watch connected ecosystem very much.

You are just trying to find fault with the Apple Watch and hiding it behind a veneer of self-righteous indignation. How dare Apple release a watch with 2 days battery life! Unacceptable! Apple should wait until they develop a nuclear fuel cell which can keep the Apple Watch running for 10 years straight without needing to recharge!

Stupid, right?

 

[crashoverride77]

You've confused me there; from an article covering record-breaking smartwatch sales and the worst ever decline in sales for a sports bands company, you're concluding that "It clearly shows that the demand is not in smartwatches, but in sports bands"

Welcome to Mac rumours

 

[diegov12]

Typical spin. Did anyone actually look at the numbers? Apparently not.

CYOY, Apple share is down, shipments are down. Fibit loss share, but ended up shipping more. Apparently you people are so obsessed with worshiping of Apple that you can't even see the real numbers. Don't pay attention to a single quarter. Let's see what CY17 brings.

awww, someones feelings are hurt.

 

[Steve121178]

Let's see. Do regular battery operated watches have an always on display per the norm? Yes, they do so point one is *very* relevant. Even without that, having to charge a watch every night is unacceptable. Saying battery tech doesn't exist, again, isn't the right way to view this. The correct way to view this is to have Apple address each of the three issues and fix it. Consumers don't want to hear excuses for these glaring limitations if Apple expects people to buy it. Right now the Apple Watch is a piece of junk.

You don't know how to use it properly. Clearly.

When I want to look at my Apple Watch, the display lights up. It's very clever how it *knows* I want to interact with it by the normal human gestures such as wrist movement. Why would I want the battery burning power when almost 100% of the time I am not looking at it?

When I do use my watch quite heavily (full day of work, gym in the evening etc), the battery's lowest level has been 80% when I've taken it off and put it on charge. That's impressive and far, far better than I was expecting after listening to people on here moaning.

I'm slightly baffled why you think people charging the watch each day is unacceptable. With my usage, I could get by with a full working week before it requires a charge, but I never wear a watch to bed, so why not put it on charge?

Some people like yourself look for problems that don't really exist. Whether it's to try to justify to yourself that you don't want it, or need it, I have no idea. Only you can answer why you've written posts containing no facts whatsoever.

 

[dogslobber]

Only you can answer why you've written posts containing no facts whatsoever.

I snipped your rant as it's redundant. The clear facts are what I posted previously. You seemed pretty upset with those three points which is mysterious to me but each to their own.

 

[Steve121178]

I snipped your rant as it's redundant. The clear facts are what I posted previously. You seemed pretty upset with those three points which is mysterious to me but each to their own.

I corrected your misinformation. I'm good at that.

 

[dogslobber]

I corrected your misinformation. I'm good at that.

There was no misinformation. That's plain silly.

What I did post was an unbiased perspective on the limitation of this product. I reiterate, always on display is the generally accepted practice for a battery operated watch, despite Apple's attempt to present it as being normal. A fallacy.

Next, there is zero precedent for charging a device daily. That's impractical, constraining, and plainly unacceptable to the larger masses. Your claims of multi-day use without charging are the substantial outlier which is several deviations removed from the norm but whatever.

Where we expect Apple to excel is in the thinness of the product. Having a watch that's thicker than some of Apple's laptop average thickness is well a Fail.