Nearly Half of All Smartwatches Shipped Last Quarter Were Apple Watches

[Moonjumper]

The use case for a smart watch is still pretty niche, particularly for the price, but Apple are a step nearer than anyone, so no surprise at the current dominance. But it is still small numbers.

Apple jumped into the smartphone and tablet markets only when they had a convincing product. Except for that time they did something before the technology was ready: The Newton. Is this going to be a repeat? Something that worked eventually, but it had the wrong reputation by then.

 

[Reason077]

Apple Watch was the world's most popular smartwatch by a significant margin last quarter, with an estimated 49.6 percent market share in the April-June period, according to data shared with MacRumors by research firm IDC.

The Apple Watch's real competition is FitBit, not these other Smart Watches.

 

[rjohnstone]

I have a Gear S2 and a Series 1 Apple Watch and it's a tough choice between the two if you're platform agnostic like I am.
I use both an iPhone and an Android phone depending on where and what I'm doing.
The nice thing about the S2 is it works with both platforms, so it still works if I do a phone swap and forget to change watches. It's functionality is limited on iOS, but still useful.
I like the S2 size as well. The S3 is a chunky beast in comparison, so I skipped it.
The Series 1 AW (42mm) fits nice, but since it doesn't work with Android, I have to swap out when I grab my Android phone.

 

[RickInHouston]

I think this is fantastic news.

It separates the 'apple army' from the rest of the people.

 

[Precision Gem]

I interact with the watch way more than I do with my phone. Maybe 10:1 or more.
Only thing I would like to see would be thinner, and more choices for watch faces, or the ability to create your own.

 

[44267547]

The smartwatch market today.

The wearables market tomorrow.

Onwards, Apple. All the way to the top!!!

I'm Pro Apple, but let's also consider the margin of wearables sold versus the wearable market as a whole. That's a significant difference when you look at the whole spectrum.

 

[Mac 128]

I remember a constant onslaught of Apple Watch imminent failure predictions when it first launched. Shouldn't people know better by now?

It's estimated that Apple is selling something like 15 million watches a year. So if that's a little over half the smartwatch market, then 30 million watches a year is not really an overwhelming success. It certainly isn't a failure, but compared to Apple's aging flagship products, it's not great either.

 

[truthertech]

It's still a relatively small market though, with only just over 2 million smartwatches a month sold worldwide.

First of all, keep in mind that those are just guesstimates from those "analysts," the actual figures may be very different. Secondly, their estimate of 2.3 million a month was for the slowest quarter of the year, but if we use their estimates, it means that well over 50 million smart watches have been sold in just the past two years. Not near as large as smart phones, but a large and profitable market nonetheless.

 

[nburwell]

I used to hate wearing traditional watches back in the day. But when the AW was originally released, I sprung for the sports model. I ultimately regretted it because I would've rather had the SS since the finish went better with my work attire. Ultimately sold the sports model and went about eight months without a AW. Finally got a series 0 SS on Swappa a couple months ago. Been wearing it everyday since.

Over the past year, I have seen a significant amount of people wearing the Apple Watch. When I first purchased the sport model, there essentially was no one who I saw wearing it. But I'm glad to see more people embracing it.

 

[truthertech]

It's estimated that Apple is selling something like 15 million watches a year. So if that's a little over half the smartwatch market, then 30 million watches a year is not really an overwhelming success. It certainly isn't a failure, but compared to Apple's aging flagship products, it's not great either.

People don't seem to pay attention to Apple's financial reports. Record income, soon to be the first trillion dollar company. "Aging flagship" products?? I assume you mean the iPhone, which is predicted to sell at a record level, again, as nearly a quarter billion people around the planet buy one in the next twelve months. Nobody knows how many watches are being sold, they are just WAG's from the analysts, but we do know that Apple has taken over the market in just two years, and according to TC, they are continuing to have large increases in sales.For some reason, people feel that the watch was meant to be a replacement for the profits of the iPhone which doomsayers believe to be in danger of plummeting despite the likely record sales again. No, the Apple Watch is just another growing profit center that brings in money while increasing the value of the overall Apple ecosystem. Just like iCloud, Apple Music, AirPods, and soon the Homepod.

 

[IvanEd747]

Absolutely agree. $350/$400.00 was to high of a price when the Sport model launched in 2015. When Series 1 was introduced at $269.00, it offered a more 'Entry' level price point where it should have been priced when it launched. Albeit, to reduce the price point of Series 1, it also changed the packaging contents and did not include the power brick.

As an electronics engineer, I highly doubt the power brick costs more than $10 to manufacture, even being high quality.

Edit: typo.

 

[calzon65]

Why is that?

Don't you take out and wear your watch every day?

The Apple Watch is exactly the same, you just have a place you put it over.

Sorry, for religious beliefs, an impending invasion of extraterrestrials and the government monitoring my private bowel movements, I was instructed to never remove my watch.

 

[44267547]

As an electronics engineer highly doubt the power brick costs more than $10 to manufacture, even being high quality.

Even if that was the cost to manufacture it, we already know what Apple charges significantly more. Regardless, they don't include the charging brick, to reduce the price of the Apple Watch as it was to reduce the price point.

 

[IvanEd747]

Even if that was the cost to manufacture it, we already know what Apple charges significantly more. Regardless, they don't include the charging brick, to reduce the price of the Apple Watch as it was to reduce the price point.

True. But I suspect they are reducing their profit margin more than something else, specially because all the research and development money on series 1 has probably been earned back.

 

[npmacuser5]

Thumbs up here, really like my Apple Watch.

 

[CarlJ]

I wear a Samsung Gear S3, personally, as it actually looks like a watch.

That's silly. The Apple Watch is a watch. So how it looks is clearly one variant of what a watch looks like. And what a watch looks like is changing. The prevalence of wristwatches is comparatively modern - for far longer, the pocket watch was the definition of what a watch looks like.

 

[Johnny907]

I remember a constant onslaught of Apple Watch imminent failure predictions when it first launched. Shouldn't people know better by now?

2015Q2 was 3.6 million units, so despite a lower starting price and expanded usability compared to the launch model, sales are still on the decline. Those predictions came last year, when 2016Q2 sales were half as much as the current and previous year thanks to a lack of refresh at that point. Indeed the only thing that bumped sales back up was the fall release of the Series 1/Series 2 refresh, as well as a price drop across the line. Basically, now is not the time to get cocky, given the rock bottom ratio of Apple Watch wearers compared to iPhone owners. Apple still has a long, long way to go before the Apple Watch is an assured product line.

 

[CarlJ]

That people will buy anything with an Apple logo on it?

Keep banging that drum. Clearly, nobody ever chose to buy an Apple product because it was well designed and did its job well, they only ever buy Apple products because of the logo.

 

[FightTheFuture]

They COULD create a workout mode where you didn't have to rely on the screen so much. For a device they tout as a workout essential, I leave it at home a lot while running. It's not worth the frustration.

I've been thinking about this for a while, but definitely today on the treadmill where my sweat gummed up my PowerBeats and I couldn't adjust the volume. A workout mode would be great - maybe the crown to adjust volume and double/triple clicking the side button to skip/rewind. Even isolating it just to the Music app would solve a lot of problems.

That's silly. The Apple Watch is a watch. So how it looks is clearly one variant of what a watch looks like. And what a watch looks like is changing. The prevalence of wristwatches is comparatively modern - for far longer, the pocket watch was the definition of what a watch looks like.

Consider the millions of FitBit owners. Those users definitely used those wearables as a watch on top of it's fitness features - does it looks like a watch? Heck no. But people wear them just the same.

 

[The_Machine]

I still hardly ever see people interact with their Apple Watches other then to glance at the time. People wear them, but I question how much of the public actually uses their features.

The gym seems to be the one area that people engage with the "smart" in these Apple Watches and if that's the case then I question the overall utility they have.

Sales numbers look ok, but nothing stellar. Owning the largest piece of a new market pie that's not showing signs of strong growth isn't super encouraging.

 

[CarlJ]

I still hardly ever see people interact with their Apple Watches other then to glance at the time. People wear them, but I question how much of the public actually uses their features.

Depends on your definitions of "interact" and "use". Most people are familiar with the image of the person walking along staring at and fiddling with their phone. If you're using an Apple Watch like that, you're getting it wrong. It's optimal for much shorter interactions. That glance they just took could be to check the time (it is a watch, after all), or could just as easily have been to glance at the top of an email or text that just arrived and determine that it isn't something they need to deal with right away (if the watch is set to only vibrate and not make noise, on notifications, you wouldn't know they'd been alerted). Often what the watch does is help you to know when it is actually worth taking the phone out of your pocket (and providing the absolute minimum of disruption when it isn't).

 

[Vjosullivan]

Keep banging that drum. Clearly, nobody ever chose to buy an Apple product because it was well designed and did its job well, they only ever buy Apple products because of the logo.

In the case of the watch, it's likely true. No-one really wants a watch that looks like a piece of black plastic on a cheap elastic strap. But if you want an Apple compatible watch, you've got no choice. The software is certainly impressive. The hardware, less so.

Actually, that's not entirely true. You could choose to pay $10,000 ... and get a leather strap.
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I think this is fantastic news.

It separates the 'apple army' from the rest of the people.

Remember when "Think Different" was an Apple mantra? How times have changed.

 

[44267547]

But if you want an Apple compatible watch, you've got no choice. The software is certainly impressive. The hardware, less so.

False. The Apple Watch hardware is actually really nice, and this is coming from somebody that's tested multiple wearable devices. The 316 L stainless use on the Apple Watch stainless model is very well-crafted, and has a nice weight to it. Even the 7000 series aluminum used on the Apple Watch sport model, is very durable and well constructed for more rugged environments. Apple invests a lot into their metals on their products, and the Apple Watch is no exception.

 

[manu chao]

That's silly. The Apple Watch is a watch. So how it looks is clearly one variant of what a watch looks like. And what a watch looks like is changing. The prevalence of wristwatches is comparatively modern - for far longer, the pocket watch was the definition of what a watch looks like.

Sure, but pocket watches look just like wristwatches, just larger, connected to a chain and sometimes coming with a lid. And it was not fashion that made people 'wear' pocket watches, watches were simply too large to fit on a wrist

 

[fairuz]

Not surprised they're winning. Since it's an accessory, a smart watch is only as good as its ecosystem. On top of that, Apple offers one of the best-designed smartwatches. I still think smart watches in general are stupid, though.
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False. The Apple Watch hardware is actually really nice, and this is coming from somebody that's tested multiple wearable devices. The 316 L stainless use on the Apple Watch stainless model is very well-crafted, and has a nice weight to it. Even the 7000 series aluminum used on the Apple Watch sport model, is very durable and well constructed for more rugged environments. Apple invests a lot into their metals on their products, and the Apple Watch is no exception.

Probably the latest gen is good. I tried the first one, and the GUI lag was unbelievable. I'm guessing the hardware was underpowered.