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Samsung Narrowing Gap With Apple Watch as Apple's Shipments Fall

I typically upgrade every 2 years but this year was challenging because of the Watch bands selection. I had the
Apple Watch Hermès (Series 5) and pre-ordered the S7 SB Titanium on the first day with ETA 2-3 weeks, which I cancelled it. However I kept checking the Apple Store app and see anything available in retail store. Last week I ordered the Nike S7 Starlight with a Nike Sport Band and picked up in store the next day. Now I am looking forward to any new sensor on the Series 8.
 
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KindJamz said:
Clearly apple has a huge amount of series 3 hanging around.
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And this will just keep it hanging around for developers even longer. Given the paltry amount of onboard storage and the annoying process to do software updates, Apple should have either upped the storage or removed it from the line-up.

*EDIT* Ahhh, I see that you meant Apple has a lot of them to get rid of still. Given how Apple attempts to do "on-time" making/delivering, I'd be a little surprised if they had a bunch of Series 3 just hanging around. But they've kept selling them year after year, so who knows.
 
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I think it’s a mixture of saturation and contentment. Also, the market for smart watches for those who use Android is still small. Apple’s maturity now suggest they might want to consider making the Apple Watch independent of the iPhone if they want to grow it.

This of course means they will need to create an Android app for the Watch. But we have seen this before iPod/iTunes for Windows, switch to Intel/Boot Camp, iPhone/more carriers, larger screen iPhones, Pencil support for iPad, Apple Music on Android.

They always have to go back on a lot of their exclusivity in their ecosystem to find growth. But guess what, it always works out in their favor.
 
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Michael Scrip said:
here are a billion iPhones out in the world... but only 100 million Apple Watches.

So only 1 in 10 iPhone users have an Apple Watch.
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You assumed that no user has more than one iPhone. As a counterexample, many people have two iPhones (one is personal, the other is company-provided).

That's important because most people don't have a use for two Apple Watches.
 
allpar said:
And it's not always on... as azentropy said, the 5 would have been better to keep around - or an SE v2 (I hate when they do that) that would be the SE battery and always-on, but not the expensive sensors. Admittedly that would require engineering and tooling, but I figure a really cool Apple watch might generate some phone sales, and phone sales might generate laptop sales.
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I'm guessing AOD will be the feature they add to the SE v2, whenever that comes out. Maybe a couple of the older sensors that were held back as well, but none of the newer ones that distinguish the latest AW.

allpar said:
Apple Watch features I find handy:
1) Single lead cardiogram
2) Heart rate sensor
3) Walkie-talkie
4) Answer phone calls from your wrist
5) Find your phone easily ;)
6) Tells the time, okay, a $12 watch does that
7) Large print date and day (that's a huge thing for me personally)
8) Turn by turn navigation when driving or walking
9) Taps my wrist when it needs attention (I tend not to keep my phone in my pocket)
10) Pay at the register or subway without taking my phone out
11) Pay at the register or subway when I forgot my phone (and wallet)
12) Timers - phone's clunky for that

Body fat estimations tend to be grossly wrong on scales and such, I doubt Samsung has figured out how to do it accurately from your wrist.
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Pretty much the same here (especially timers), except for walkie-talkie. We find that one pretty useless! I would add reading SMS/iMessages as well, but not sending them other than the quick preselected replies. And there are times when I don't have my wallet or phone by design (like the snack bar by the pool at our camp). Yes I could walk back to wherever we were sitting where the phone is, but since my watch is still on even while in the pool I can just buy lunch on the go. Luckily there is no swim-up bar or I'd really be in trouble!
 
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pianostar9 said:
You assumed that no user has more than one iPhone. As a counterexample, many people have two iPhones (one is personal, the other is company-provided).

That's important because most people don't have a use for two Apple Watches.
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That is a use case I wish Apple would think of and allow the watch to receive data from both phones. I do have a work and personal phone and have the watch paired to my personal phone. It would be nice to know when a meeting pops up on my calendar at work. Our company does supply an app I can run on my personal phone that pushes meetings down to the watch, but it only updates once per day, so last minute meetings or meeting changes don't make it to my watch.
 
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Percentages are always fun. A larger percentage of comparatively fewer sales due to market constraints/chip shortages does not equal volume. And quarterly shipments do not equal marketshare. Honestly, who puts this crap together?
 
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When you have a device that will only work with an iPhone and little changes on your most recent releases, you eventually get to the saturation point where those that want one, have one. After that it's a small amount of new users and a lot of upgrading. Maybe that point has been reached but then the market is not itself right now so fluctuations are expected.
 
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As the article points out, timing is everything. Samsung launches its smartwatch in a fiscal quarter when Apple's smartwatch is no longer the shiny new Apple bauble with everyone knowing the series 7 refresh won't happen until the next quarter. It'll be interesting to see the next quarter's results and whether Samsung holds onto their gains.
 
mazz0 said:
Of course the other problem with the series 7 was how underwhelming it was compared to the rumours! That must have lost them a few sales amount MacRumours readers! (there are dozens of us!)
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Not getting a new form factor with the 7 was enough to keep me from upgrading from my series 5. The lack of new and compelling features didn’t help either, which is more likely to drive sales for 99% of the population that isn’t on MacRumors. Not even getting a bump in battery life, like the iPhone 13’s offer compared to last year’s 12’s, surely adds to some suppression of sales.
 
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skaertus said:
It is still a huge market gain for Samsung.

And the watches are becoming more fully-featured, which reduces Apple's advantage. There is so much a smartwatch can do, and it is not a smartphone or a computer. The Galaxy Watch 4 measures body fat, for instance, something that the Apple Watch 7 cannot do.

There is also the fact that, as smartwatches become more popular, they will appeal to a wider audience. And price matters to a broader part of the population than it does to enthusiasts. Apple Watch 7 starts at $399 in the U.S. and the Galaxy Watch 4 starts at $249. Apple may have cheaper options, but even the 4-year old Series 3 costs $199. Samsung is way cheaper, and that appeals to more consumers. Price has a huge role in determining market share (otherwise, Patek Phillipe would have a large portion of the watch market).
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Imo, there is a certain price range where prices are elastic. A smart watch that I am going to have for obstenisibly for years, would $150 be a make or break decision, especially since the Apple Watch is an extension of your iPhone.
 
Have an apple watch 0. Still barely holding on. Desperately wanted a new one this year. Accidentally missed launch by an hour and shipping dates were into December for a stainless steel watch. Was really hoping for a redesign or some kind of big feature. Neither happened. So then I hoped I could find a stainless steel 6 - everywhere is sold out for some reason. Now I feel like I'll just wait then.
 
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It doesn't makes since to say Samsung increased its market share, when the graphs show quarterly sales, not market share, and the graphs show Watch OSes not manufactures. Samsung might have increased shipments, and slightly increased its marketshare.
 
Apple Watch has become boring. There's little reason to upgrade if you have an existing watch. They can't even make it sound interesting during a keynote anymore either.

The much anticipated redesign for this year would have helped push sales. Instead they released a mutated version of the Series 6 which is basically the same thing as last year, just marginally bigger.

Apple needs to start trying again instead of lazy annual incremental updates.
 
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Still rocking an Apple Watch 3, and as others have stated in this thread, longevity of the Apple watches has many of us content with the older models.

On the Flipside, I think the biggest reason for the surge in Samsung sales has to do with their being the first to mass produce a device with the much awaited Wear OS 3. It is far more modern and more comprehensive of an OS than previously available.

Not discounting Samsung's new watch, however WearOS 3 was long awaited, and many of us living in both camps didn't dare buy a new watch with the older OS.
 
Samsung’s watch line has improved sharply, the increase tracks for me. Especially given apple watches are incompatible with android phones (which hold a huge market share).

Im of the idea that apple watch is apple’s most (by far) “ahead of the competition” product. It has no right being as good as it is; to the point where it doesnt feel to me that it occupies the same category as other wearables. It is its own thing. Apple’s only competitor in the watch space, is apple’s previous gen devices that remain excellent, and ahead of even latest gen offerings from other smart-things peddlers.

IE: apple lost shipping of units to apple.
Samsung gained market share completely separate of that.

Edit:
Especially true for people who think technology should blend into life; not stand out. Garmin makes excellent functional things… and they wear you. Not a bad thing, just different loves of technology in different ways.
 
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Steve121178 said:
Apple Watch has become boring. There's little reason to upgrade if you have an existing watch. They can't even make it sound interesting during a keynote anymore either.

The much anticipated redesign for this year would have helped push sales. Instead they released a mutated version of the Series 6 which is basically the same thing as last year, just marginally bigger.

Apple needs to start trying again instead of lazy annual incremental updates.
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While the concept looked cool, after having watches with square edge designs (both smart and not), it would have been terrible in daily use. Hard edges on your wrist is not comfortable, and far too easy to catch the edge of the device on various items your wand / wrist will come near and interact with.

I am glad the square edge redesign didn't go into production. At least this round.
 
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I canceled my AW7 and instead got a Garmin Enduro Titanium on Oct. 20. Charged it fully. The charge lasted until yesterday on its first charge — 31 days.

After the re-charge, it shows 50 days of charge left.

I think I know why Garmin’s percent of market went up.
 
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