Apple Watch saw 'best quarter ever' with 4.6M units during holidays, estimate claims
Thanks to the Series 1 and Series 2, the Apple Watch saw its best-ever performance in the December quarter, according to research estimates shared on Thursday -- even if Apple was eclipsed in the wearables market by the likes of Xiaomi.
Apple shipped 4.6 million Watches in the quarter, up from 4.1 million a year ago, according to IDC data. Apple has yet to publish any official Watch sales numbers, and in its most recent financial call claimed only that the device set new records in "both units and revenue," straining production capacity.
"The lower entry price point and the inclusion of GPS on the Series 2 along with a completely revamped user interface have helped the company grow its presence," IDC commented. "Apple is one of the few companies that has been able to quickly refocus its watch to gain traction in the consumer market and has also been leading the charge on introducing the smartwatch category to the commercial segment."
Apple swung more heavily towards the fitness market with the Series 2, adding GPS and full waterproofing -- features often reserved for high-end trackers by the likes of Garmin. It even put out a special Nike+ edition, featuring unique Sport Bands and preloaded software.
The Series 1, meanwhile, brought the Watch's base price down to $269, while still offering an upgraded processor.
Apple's global marketshare nevertheless fell from 14.1 percent to 13.6 percent in the last quarter, IDC said. This was linked to "relentless" growth by Xiaomi, which leapt from 2.6 million units to 5.2 million, giving it a 15.2 percent share.
Fitbit retained overall control of wearables, but plummeted from 8.4 million units to just 6.5, bringing its share down from 29 percent to 19.2. Long focused exclusively on fitness, the company is hoping to enter the smartwatch arena to regain an edge.
Apple is thought to be at work on a third-generation Watch model, which could adopt new touch technology and possibly LTE support. The latter might let people use the device completely independently of an iPhone, solving one of the biggest complaints so far.
Apple shipped 4.6 million Watches in the quarter, up from 4.1 million a year ago, according to IDC data. Apple has yet to publish any official Watch sales numbers, and in its most recent financial call claimed only that the device set new records in "both units and revenue," straining production capacity.
"The lower entry price point and the inclusion of GPS on the Series 2 along with a completely revamped user interface have helped the company grow its presence," IDC commented. "Apple is one of the few companies that has been able to quickly refocus its watch to gain traction in the consumer market and has also been leading the charge on introducing the smartwatch category to the commercial segment."
Apple swung more heavily towards the fitness market with the Series 2, adding GPS and full waterproofing -- features often reserved for high-end trackers by the likes of Garmin. It even put out a special Nike+ edition, featuring unique Sport Bands and preloaded software.
The Series 1, meanwhile, brought the Watch's base price down to $269, while still offering an upgraded processor.
Apple's global marketshare nevertheless fell from 14.1 percent to 13.6 percent in the last quarter, IDC said. This was linked to "relentless" growth by Xiaomi, which leapt from 2.6 million units to 5.2 million, giving it a 15.2 percent share.
Fitbit retained overall control of wearables, but plummeted from 8.4 million units to just 6.5, bringing its share down from 29 percent to 19.2. Long focused exclusively on fitness, the company is hoping to enter the smartwatch arena to regain an edge.
Apple is thought to be at work on a third-generation Watch model, which could adopt new touch technology and possibly LTE support. The latter might let people use the device completely independently of an iPhone, solving one of the biggest complaints so far.
Comments
this one at 4.6 million
another at 5.3 million
and yet another at 6 million
i know which one I'd like to think is closest, but who knows?
also, IDC isn't measuring smartwatch sales, shipments, or whatever, they are measuring wearables, from under $100 to some top price we don't know about. The other two estimates have Apple at between 55 and 66% of smartwatch sales.
Because IDC need the clicks to generate revenue and because they decided to include them in the report.
Who paid for it btw?
How do you know the Xiaomi device is shit? Do you have one? IF so why is it shit?
Note that I'm not and never will be in the market for something that goes around my wrists so I don't have an axe to grind either way.
Sure looks like shit to me.
Crap. I didn't even know Xiaomi was 'in' the wearables market; And they're ahead of Apple?? That kinda sucks.
was going to say the same thing, again made up number for made up analysis. We all should not be surprise since it appears our university have been cranking out students who can not seem to understand the difference between actual facts and made up fact.
There is actually another estimate I saw that put sales closer to 1M, in spite of the fact I was just sitting with 3 other people today who all got new apple watch over the xmas holiday. I am seeing more and more of the apple watch almost as many as Fitbit I see on a daily basis. In the world of smart watches and fitness trackers I only see apple watches and Fitbits, and Fitbit has already said they can not compete with Apple in the Smartwatch space
Even with the lower cost Fitbit and Xiaomi devices, Apple are doing pretty well. Especially compared to Samsung.
(The current Fitbit range is overpriced anyway. Especially compared to their previous versions.)
- Dorm access
- College Store purchases
- Realtime update of campus events
This is a large addressable market with high repeatability, and capturing them as customers early (young) could make them lifelong users.
I am getting deja vu with iPhone and iPad and Netbooks compare.
I follow a couple of focused analytical persons (Dediu and Neil Cybart) who do much more investigation and analysis on Apple, and they have their own estimates which are in range of 5.3-5.5M units in the just past holiday quarter. They are estimates, but in my view, "better" than the typical firm.
As for the 1M, that was a speculative report that focused on the September quarter (Apples FY'16 Q4). Basically most of the quarter was the dry period before Apple released Series 1 and 2. So yeah - after product was released for 12+ months and right before the refresh, it might have been a poor quarter.
You may know this, but just in case you don't - there is the option on the Apple Watch app on iPhone to change the orientation of watch to have crown point the other way. While I keep mine in the "traditional watch" mode most of the time, I do change it when I go skiing (or other activities wearing gloves which cause the same issue you note). Very simple - took less than 30s to make the app change & swap the band around.
I have actually had it dial 911 erroneously once - my gloves pushed in the side button enough to bring up the "power off & SOS call" screen, and there must have been enough moisture and a movement that slide that SOS button. Next thing I knew my phone was dialing 911 (found out the watch makes a different alert for this:). I cancelled the call, but they still called me back to understand what was going on.
Nuff said.
I own the original and am awaiting AW3 this fall, especially if it has LTE.