Apple extends dominant smartwatch market lead in Q1

AppleInsider

Apple Watch extended its lead over smartwatch market competitors during the first quarter of 2020, according to new statistics from research firm Strategy Analytics, with Apple's wearable now accounting for more than 55% of the whole.

The latest estimates from Strategy Analytics once again put Apple well ahead of the competition at 7.6 million units shipped for quarter one, up 22.6% from 6.2 million shipments in the same period last year. Apple Watch now owns 55.5% of the market, up 1.1% year-over-year.

"Apple Watch continues to fend off strong competition from hungry rivals like Garmin and Samsung," said Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics. "Apple Watch owns half the worldwide smartwatch market and remains the clear industry leader."

Samsung came in a distant second with 1.9 million units shipped for the quarter, up 11.8% on the year. The Korean tech giant's share of the market dropped from 14.9% in the first quarter of 2019 to 13.9% during the most recent period.

Third-place Garmin saw a 37.5% uptick in growth as it shipped 1.1 million units in the first quarter. The company's overall marketshare remains in the single digits at 8%.

A collection of also-rans comprised the "others" vendor category, which managed 3.1 million units shipped for a 22.6% share of the market. Overall, the smartwatch sector grew 20.2% over the first three months of 2020, driven largely by Apple Watch's strong performance.

During Apple's recent earnings conference call for the second fiscal quarter of 2020, CFO Luca Maestri said revenue from the iPhone maker's wearables arm is now equivalent to a Fortune 140 company.

Apple is expected to release a next-generation Apple Watch this fall. Recent rumors suggest the company will continue to iterate on the wearable's health features and could include anxiety monitoring and sleep tracking functionality in an "Apple Watch Series 6."

macmojo

So much for it being a 'failed' product, which is all I heard from the detractors when series 0 launched (which I bought, was a bit slow but otherwise, I loved it).

Currently have a Series 3/iPhone X combo but been patiently waiting for the upcoming series 6. Will go nice with an iPhone 12Pro upgrade...

hammeroftruth

macmojo said:

So much for it being a 'failed' product, which is all I heard from the detractors when series 0 launched (which I bought, was a bit slow but otherwise, I loved it).

Currently have a Series 3/iPhone X combo but been patiently waiting for the upcoming series 6. Will go nice with an iPhone 12Pro upgrade...

I had a first gen and it was borderline. Kept it for many years until I upgraded to a Series 4. 

At the time there didn’t seem to be a clear direction of the UI and what the watch was supposed to do. 3rd party apps were so-so and later on a lot were discontinued because they were terrible. 

Depending on what iPhone you had, you’re experience was usually lacking. You could pull out your phone faster than waiting for the watch to sync and show you the same info. 

A lot of times it was god awful. Setting it up took forever, battery life was not great, some neat things it did were later discontinued as Apple was trying to figure out what features do people want and which ones were just gimmicks.

It really wasn’t until series 3 that there was more focus on creating a device that everyone could use. You could swim with it, it had better software, hardware and battery life. 

Then Series 4 came and it was amazing. Bigger screen, better battery life, better sensors, a single lead ecg and fall detection. Siri was more responsive.  They even made all of the watch backs ceramic, not just the stainless ones.  

It was the watch I was hoping for when I bought the first gen. 

xed

hammeroftruth said:

macmojo said:

So much for it being a 'failed' product, which is all I heard from the detractors when series 0 launched (which I bought, was a bit slow but otherwise, I loved it).

Currently have a Series 3/iPhone X combo but been patiently waiting for the upcoming series 6. Will go nice with an iPhone 12Pro upgrade...

I had a first gen and it was borderline. Kept it for many years until I upgraded to a Series 4. 

At the time there didn’t seem to be a clear direction of the UI and what the watch was supposed to do. 3rd party apps were so-so and later on a lot were discontinued because they were terrible. 

Depending on what iPhone you had, you’re experience was usually lacking. You could pull out your phone faster than waiting for the watch to sync and show you the same info. 

A lot of times it was god awful. Setting it up took forever, battery life was not great, some neat things it did were later discontinued as Apple was trying to figure out what features do people want and which ones were just gimmicks.

It really wasn’t until series 3 that there was more focus on creating a device that everyone could use. You could swim with it, it had better software, hardware and battery life. 

Then Series 4 came and it was amazing. Bigger screen, better battery life, better sensors, a single lead ecg and fall detection. Siri was more responsive.  They even made all of the watch backs ceramic, not just the stainless ones.  

It was the watch I was hoping for when I bought the first gen. 

I had none of those issues with my Series 0. Battery life was lasted two days, I swam with it on, and it everything was synced. Was each subsequent model better and major OS update a major improvement, sure, but I can't think of a single Apple product that didn't follow that same lead.

The concept was sound which is why it's still evolving from its original UI and UX instead of being scrapped and built back up from the ground like so many other smartwatches before it.

beats

This is a strange segment. I would have bet my life Samsung would've released a knockoff version and outsold Apple by undercutting them.

This is iPod all over again. As soon as one of the Apple-wannabe companies ripoff Watch, it will be 2nd or even 1st place(sales). This is what helped Fitbit so much, except Fitbit has an ounce of originality.

Whenever a company tries to be original they fail, goes to show how much these companies actually suck as they cannot stand on their own. How long will Android Watches hold out from making knockoffs until they tap out from no one wanting them?

anantksundaram

The Watch is brilliant.

I did not think it possible, but it has become an even more essential part of my life than the phone. 

kuyangkoh

Xed said:

hammeroftruth said:

macmojo said:

So much for it being a 'failed' product, which is all I heard from the detractors when series 0 launched (which I bought, was a bit slow but otherwise, I loved it).

Currently have a Series 3/iPhone X combo but been patiently waiting for the upcoming series 6. Will go nice with an iPhone 12Pro upgrade...

I had a first gen and it was borderline. Kept it for many years until I upgraded to a Series 4. 

At the time there didn’t seem to be a clear direction of the UI and what the watch was supposed to do. 3rd party apps were so-so and later on a lot were discontinued because they were terrible. 

Depending on what iPhone you had, you’re experience was usually lacking. You could pull out your phone faster than waiting for the watch to sync and show you the same info. 

A lot of times it was god awful. Setting it up took forever, battery life was not great, some neat things it did were later discontinued as Apple was trying to figure out what features do people want and which ones were just gimmicks.

It really wasn’t until series 3 that there was more focus on creating a device that everyone could use. You could swim with it, it had better software, hardware and battery life. 

Then Series 4 came and it was amazing. Bigger screen, better battery life, better sensors, a single lead ecg and fall detection. Siri was more responsive.  They even made all of the watch backs ceramic, not just the stainless ones.  

It was the watch I was hoping for when I bought the first gen. 

I had none of those issues with my Series 0. Battery life was lasted two days, I swam with it on, and it everything was synced. Was each subsequent model better and major OS update a major improvement, sure, but I can't think of a single Apple product that didn't follow that same lead.

The concept was sound which is why it's still evolving from its original UI and UX instead of being scrapped and built back up from the ground like so many other smartwatches before it.

Swam where? Sands??? 

xed

Kuyangkoh said:

Xed said:

hammeroftruth said:

macmojo said:

So much for it being a 'failed' product, which is all I heard from the detractors when series 0 launched (which I bought, was a bit slow but otherwise, I loved it).

Currently have a Series 3/iPhone X combo but been patiently waiting for the upcoming series 6. Will go nice with an iPhone 12Pro upgrade...

I had a first gen and it was borderline. Kept it for many years until I upgraded to a Series 4. 

At the time there didn’t seem to be a clear direction of the UI and what the watch was supposed to do. 3rd party apps were so-so and later on a lot were discontinued because they were terrible. 

Depending on what iPhone you had, you’re experience was usually lacking. You could pull out your phone faster than waiting for the watch to sync and show you the same info. 

A lot of times it was god awful. Setting it up took forever, battery life was not great, some neat things it did were later discontinued as Apple was trying to figure out what features do people want and which ones were just gimmicks.

It really wasn’t until series 3 that there was more focus on creating a device that everyone could use. You could swim with it, it had better software, hardware and battery life. 

Then Series 4 came and it was amazing. Bigger screen, better battery life, better sensors, a single lead ecg and fall detection. Siri was more responsive.  They even made all of the watch backs ceramic, not just the stainless ones.  

It was the watch I was hoping for when I bought the first gen. 

I had none of those issues with my Series 0. Battery life was lasted two days, I swam with it on, and it everything was synced. Was each subsequent model better and major OS update a major improvement, sure, but I can't think of a single Apple product that didn't follow that same lead.

The concept was sound which is why it's still evolving from its original UI and UX instead of being scrapped and built back up from the ground like so many other smartwatches before it.

Swam where? Sands??? 

No idea what that means. Does the location I swam really make a difference? It's water.

strangedays

hammeroftruth said:

macmojo said:

So much for it being a 'failed' product, which is all I heard from the detractors when series 0 launched (which I bought, was a bit slow but otherwise, I loved it).

Currently have a Series 3/iPhone X combo but been patiently waiting for the upcoming series 6. Will go nice with an iPhone 12Pro upgrade...

I had a first gen and it was borderline. Kept it for many years until I upgraded to a Series 4. 

At the time there didn’t seem to be a clear direction of the UI and what the watch was supposed to do. 3rd party apps were so-so and later on a lot were discontinued because they were terrible. 

Depending on what iPhone you had, you’re experience was usually lacking. You could pull out your phone faster than waiting for the watch to sync and show you the same info.
A lot of times it was god awful. Setting it up took forever, battery life was not great, some neat things it did were later discontinued as Apple was trying to figure out what features do people want and which ones were just gimmicks.

It really wasn’t until series 3 that there was more focus on creating a device that everyone could use. You could swim with it, it had better software, hardware and battery life. 

Then Series 4 came and it was amazing. Bigger screen, better battery life, better sensors, a single lead ecg and fall detection. Siri was more responsive.  They even made all of the watch backs ceramic, not just the stainless ones.  

It was the watch I was hoping for when I bought the first gen. 

I had the 0 from day 1, and agree but disagree. Agreed it was too slow, and third-party apps sucked (they were worthless). But the prime use cases remain the same as they are today -- workout tracking, notifications, payments, wireless iPod. Battery life wasn't as good as the newer models, but I got all-day use out of it, well into upgrading to the AW3. At night you just charged it right next to your iPhone. Now my AW4 can go 1-2 days, but I still charge daily.

edited May 2020

lolliver

Beats said:

This is a strange segment. I would have bet my life Samsung would've released a knockoff version and outsold Apple by undercutting them.

This is iPod all over again. As soon as one of the Apple-wannabe companies ripoff Watch, it will be 2nd or even 1st place(sales). This is what helped Fitbit so much, except Fitbit has an ounce of originality.

Whenever a company tries to be original they fail, goes to show how much these companies actually suck as they cannot stand on their own. How long will Android Watches hold out from making knockoffs until they tap out from no one wanting them?

  

It's been a while now that these companies (including Huawei and Fitbit) have been releasing Apple Watch copied designs. It hasn't seemed to help them much. The Fitbit Versa 2 might look similar to Apple Watch, but that's about where it ends. I have a few friends that own them and use them to record their runs. The accuracy of the GPS is appalling for them. There is a lake here with a 6km running track around it and their GPS regularly glitches and shows them running across the middle of the lake.  

This is a category that requires more than just copying Apple's design to succeed. Garmin hasn't copied the Apple Watch and yet they are still doing well because they have a product tailored to their market. Samsung's approach seems to be the same old tricks. The only people I know who own a Samsung watch received it free with their phone. 

So I think you're right, this is iPod all over again. Seems like Apple may just continue being the dominate player in this space. 

edited May 2020

dyonoctis

Beats said:

This is a strange segment. I would have bet my life Samsung would've released a knockoff version and outsold Apple by undercutting them.

This is iPod all over again. As soon as one of the Apple-wannabe companies ripoff Watch, it will be 2nd or even 1st place(sales). This is what helped Fitbit so much, except Fitbit has an ounce of originality.

Whenever a company tries to be original they fail, goes to show how much these companies actually suck as they cannot stand on their own. How long will Android Watches hold out from making knockoffs until they tap out from no one wanting them?

Android wear situation is tough. Smartphone makers either opted out, or are doing their own thing. Google partners are low cost watch makers, and swiss watchmaker are either not interested, or are making product that are far more expensive than the apple watch. And people might be scared to buy a product that will be discontinued, so they don't buy it, and because they don't buy, companies don't have a motivation to try harder.

And lastly you got people who won't trade their analog watch for something digital, and people only interested in sports are already covered by brands who've been doing wearable tech since forever.