Apple Watch continues wearables market domination with 10.4M holiday shipments

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in Apple Watch
Apple is continuing to lead the rest of the wearables market, according to data from IDC, with sales of the Apple Watch, AirPods, and Beats headphones helping the iPhone maker maintain its position in a market that grew 31.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Apple Watch Series 4 ECG app


The wearable devices market is growing healthily, with IDC analysts claiming shipments for the entirety of 2018 reached 172.2 million, an increase of 27.5 percent from 2017. Fourth quarter shipments alone totaled 59.3 million units driven by the launch of new wearable devices and smartphones ahead of the holiday shopping period.

Apple is said by IDC to have shipped 16.2 million wearable devices during the quarter, giving it a market share of 27.4 percent, up from the 13.3 million shipments and 29.6 percent market share the year previously. While Apple's wearables growth is up 21.5 percent year-on-year according to the data, the faster overall growth of the market means Apple is losing a bit of its market share to its rivals.

The Apple Watch is believed to be the main contributor to the total, with 10.4 million units shipped. According to IDC, the Series 4 model has been "off to a very strong start," with growth expected to continue as more consumers and healthcare organizations adopt the new version.

IDC Q4 2018 wearable devices shipments


The shipments of the Apple Watch are considerable enough that, if isolated away from other Apple products in the category, it still outpaces the second-place Xiaomi on its own. Xiaomi saw growth to 7.5 million shipments in the quarter, with Huawei and Fitbit in third and fourth place with 5.7 million and 5.5 million units respectively.

The smartwatch category alone grew 55.2 percent year-on-year for the quarter, accounting for approximately 34.3 percent of the market in the period. Wrist bands made up 30 percent of the market, while ear-worn devices saw 66.4 percent year-on-year growth to capture 21.9 percent of the market.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    revenantrevenant Posts: 621member
    I and my wife jumped on the 4th gen. glad we waited, it is quite a good watch. I go two days in between charging.
    AppleExposedmike1lollivermacpluspluswatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 18
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    revenant said:
    I and my wife jumped on the 4th gen. glad we waited, it is quite a good watch. I go two days in between charging.
    Depends on use but I generally get two days on a charge also. I would imagine the health community who work out daily might only get a day though.
    AppleExposedwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 18
    FolioFolio Posts: 698member
    Hats off to Apple for creating first digital product that not only actively promotes health, but discourages sedentary behavior. Extemely happy w my Series 3 cellular (not activated). Boosted my exercise goal 10 percent this year and sheparding a 26 day streak, despite inclement weather on US east coast.
    lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 18
    FolioFolio Posts: 698member
    Curious to see if these growing wearables of rivals will boost the stickiness of their Android "thin atmosphere" ecosystem.
    lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 18
    AppleExposedAppleExposed Posts: 1,805unconfirmed, member

    Anecdotal but:


    It's hard to believe the rival numbers are accurate. I was at a Wal-Mart* waiting for the bathroom to open(janitor was cleaning) and just for fun decided to look at peoples wrists. Apple Watches everywhere I looked.  There were at least 2 Apple Watches in my view at all times during the 5 minute wait). I even saw 3 teens at the self checkout and 2 had an Apple Watch but I couldn't see what the other was wearing but she had an iPhone and it looked like all 3 had a Watch. The only non-Apple Watches I saw were about 3 analog ones compared to about 10 Apple Watches. It's not uncommon in the States to see couples or groups of friends all with Apple Watches on.


    Rarely do you see an android watch but sometimes you'll see a fitbit.


    In my experience here is the watch popularity in the past 3 years:


    1. Apple Watch

    2. Analog Watches

    3. Fitbits

    4. Android spyware


    P.S. Tim can't innovate Apple died with Steve Jobs the Watch is too expensive and Health is a gimmick yada yada.


    *Another reason Wal-Mart is ignorant for not supporting ApplePay.

    edited March 2019 JWSCwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 18

    Anecdotal but:


    It's hard to believe the rival numbers are accurate. I was at a Wal-Mart* waiting for the bathroom to open(janitor was cleaning) and just for fun decided to look at peoples wrists. Apple Watches everywhere I looked.  There were at least 2 Apple Watches in my view at all times during the 5 minute wait). I even saw 3 teens at the self checkout and 2 had an Apple Watch but I couldn't see what the other was wearing but she had an iPhone and it looked like all 3 had a Watch. The only non-Apple Watches I saw were about 3 analog ones compared to about 10 Apple Watches. It's not uncommon in the States to see couples or groups of friends all with Apple Watches on.


    Rarely do you see an android watch but sometimes you'll see a fitbit.


    In my experience here is the watch popularity in the past 3 years:


    1. Apple Watch

    2. Analog Watches

    3. Fitbits

    4. Android spyware


    P.S. Tim can't innovate Apple died with Steve Jobs the Watch is too expensive and Health is a gimmick yada yada.


    *Another reason Wal-Mart is ignorant for not supporting ApplePay.

    Keep in mind that there are people like me that have Garmin watches that they only wear during exercise. When I bump into other runners they are usually wearing Garmin but I don't see them on the street as much. Also, judging by the names on the list, I'm guessing these are global figures. In much of Asia and Europe, Apple isn't anywhere near as dominant as they are in the US. Usually when I see people wearing Apple Watches where I live, they are tourists or American immigrants. And then there are plenty of kids wearing cheap knock offs
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 7 of 18

    sog can finally win his bet lol

    Series 4 is amazing, got one for my gf. Can't wait to update my Series 2 to Series 5 this fall.

    AppleExposedwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 18
    AppleExposedAppleExposed Posts: 1,805unconfirmed, member

    Anecdotal but:


    It's hard to believe the rival numbers are accurate. I was at a Wal-Mart* waiting for the bathroom to open(janitor was cleaning) and just for fun decided to look at peoples wrists. Apple Watches everywhere I looked.  There were at least 2 Apple Watches in my view at all times during the 5 minute wait). I even saw 3 teens at the self checkout and 2 had an Apple Watch but I couldn't see what the other was wearing but she had an iPhone and it looked like all 3 had a Watch. The only non-Apple Watches I saw were about 3 analog ones compared to about 10 Apple Watches. It's not uncommon in the States to see couples or groups of friends all with Apple Watches on.


    Rarely do you see an android watch but sometimes you'll see a fitbit.


    In my experience here is the watch popularity in the past 3 years:


    1. Apple Watch

    2. Analog Watches

    3. Fitbits

    4. Android spyware


    P.S. Tim can't innovate Apple died with Steve Jobs the Watch is too expensive and Health is a gimmick yada yada.


    *Another reason Wal-Mart is ignorant for not supporting ApplePay.

    Keep in mind that there are people like me that have Garmin watches that they only wear during exercise. When I bump into other runners they are usually wearing Garmin but I don't see them on the street as much. Also, judging by the names on the list, I'm guessing these are global figures. In much of Asia and Europe, Apple isn't anywhere near as dominant as they are in the US. Usually when I see people wearing Apple Watches where I live, they are tourists or American immigrants. And then there are plenty of kids wearing cheap knock offs


    I figured that but how many people in 3rd world countries even care to buy a watch?


    There's not many Apple Watch knockoffs in the U.S. We see so many Apple Watches here that the knockoffs stick out like a sore thumb. I've counted 3 so far.

  • Reply 9 of 18
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    Never forget, all the shits mocking and deriding the Apple Watch when it was first revealed, viciously attacking Cook and making grand assumptions of how it would be a complete failure, a "toy", and the big embarrassment in Apple's history. This was the majority opinion on this, and other Apple centric forums and tech blogs. I doubt any of these people ever had the self awareness or honesty or retract their words. 

    My wife now leaves home 75% of the time without her iPhone. She uses the Apple Watch for everything including payments, unlocking/looking door, mapping, activity tracking, communication, safety, etc. She always hated carrying a phone with her in most situations, so this has been a game changer. It's an insanely impressive product in terms of overall scope, software, and hardware and perhaps is the purest distillation of what Apple's all about. 
    edited March 2019 AppleExposedapplesnorangeslollivermacpluspluswatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 18
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    slurpy said:
    Never forget, all the shits mocking and deriding the Apple Watch when it was first revealed, viciously attacking Cook and making grand assumptions of how it would be a complete failure, a "toy", and the big embarrassment in Apple's history. This was the majority opinion on this, and other Apple centric forums and tech blogs. I doubt any of these people ever had the self awareness or honesty or retract their words. 

    My wife now leaves home 75% of the time without her iPhone. She uses the Apple Watch for everything including payments, unlocking/looking door, mapping, activity tracking, communication, safety, etc. She always hated carrying a phone with her in most situations, so this has been a game changer. It's an insanely impressive product in terms of overall scope, software, and hardware and perhaps is the purest distillation of what Apple's all about. 
    Agreed. How quickly we take this tech for granted.  If you'd told someone in 1978 one day they'd have a phone on their wrist let alone a very powerful computer they'd ask what you were smoking.    It's a heck of a leap from an Apple ][ to an Apple Watch 4.
    lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 18
    JWSCJWSC Posts: 1,203member
    I’ve been a holdout for the Apple Watch.  But I just bought a Series 4 with cellular for my wife.  She loves it.  I’ll observe her progress over the coming months and likely get a Series 5 when it comes out.
    applesnorangeswatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 18
    geekmeegeekmee Posts: 629member
    If this is what “Doomed” looks like... I think competitors will be fighting to get in line! 🤣
    AppleExposedlolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 18
    AppleExposedAppleExposed Posts: 1,805unconfirmed, member
    MacPro said:
    slurpy said:
    Never forget, all the shits mocking and deriding the Apple Watch when it was first revealed, viciously attacking Cook and making grand assumptions of how it would be a complete failure, a "toy", and the big embarrassment in Apple's history. This was the majority opinion on this, and other Apple centric forums and tech blogs. I doubt any of these people ever had the self awareness or honesty or retract their words. 

    My wife now leaves home 75% of the time without her iPhone. She uses the Apple Watch for everything including payments, unlocking/looking door, mapping, activity tracking, communication, safety, etc. She always hated carrying a phone with her in most situations, so this has been a game changer. It's an insanely impressive product in terms of overall scope, software, and hardware and perhaps is the purest distillation of what Apple's all about. 
    Agreed. How quickly we take this tech for granted.  If you'd told someone in 1978 one day they'd have a phone on their wrist let alone a very powerful computer they'd ask what you were smoking.    It's a heck of a leap from an Apple ][ to an Apple Watch 4.


    What pisses me off is Apple spends billion of dollars on R&D, years of engineering and trial and error to bring us revolutionary products that lazy companies will just copy. Then when tons of non-Apple companies copy or make knockoffs the excuse is "that's where tech was going anyways. Apple isn't innovating."


    An Apple hater once told me HomePod took 4 months to develop.....

    lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 18
    JinTechJinTech Posts: 1,020member
    So in other words it's an absolute flop right? I mean after all, the Apple Watch was announced under Tim Cook! /s

    I see more Apple Watches in the wild than I see Android watches. I can't wait to see what Apple has next up in their sleeves. Surely if they are coming out with glasses of some sort, it will offer some kind of health benefits. Otherwise I don't see why Apple would get that space and VR is not enough of a reason to own a pair of glasses.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 18
    JinTechJinTech Posts: 1,020member

    MacPro said:
    slurpy said:
    Never forget, all the shits mocking and deriding the Apple Watch when it was first revealed, viciously attacking Cook and making grand assumptions of how it would be a complete failure, a "toy", and the big embarrassment in Apple's history. This was the majority opinion on this, and other Apple centric forums and tech blogs. I doubt any of these people ever had the self awareness or honesty or retract their words. 

    My wife now leaves home 75% of the time without her iPhone. She uses the Apple Watch for everything including payments, unlocking/looking door, mapping, activity tracking, communication, safety, etc. She always hated carrying a phone with her in most situations, so this has been a game changer. It's an insanely impressive product in terms of overall scope, software, and hardware and perhaps is the purest distillation of what Apple's all about. 
    Agreed. How quickly we take this tech for granted.  If you'd told someone in 1978 one day they'd have a phone on their wrist let alone a very powerful computer they'd ask what you were smoking.    It's a heck of a leap from an Apple ][ to an Apple Watch 4.


    What pisses me off is Apple spends billion of dollars on R&D, years of engineering and trial and error to bring us revolutionary products that lazy companies will just copy. Then when tons of non-Apple companies copy or make knockoffs the excuse is "that's where tech was going anyways. Apple isn't innovating."


    An Apple hater once told me HomePod took 4 months to develop.....

    What a lot of people don't understand is that the underlying tech in Apple products is revolutionary. If you look at the MacBook Pro for example and you see its price, you will automatically think it's way over priced but if you look at things like the Touch Bar, the Retina display with True Tone, the T2 security chip, Touch ID, and on and on and on, all that R&D make for a very compelling computer! Just my 2¢.
    lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 18
    cjcoopscjcoops Posts: 108member
    Don't forget down there in the 'Others'... going to an early grave next to the Zune is...

    "“Bye bye, Band: Microsoft to end support for fitness wearable device and health dashboard.”

    Oh, nose /s


    here's the Macalope's take on it
    https://www.macworld.com/article/3347408/not-getting-the-band-back-together-the-wearables-market.html


    edited March 2019 watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 18
    I'm still enjoying my Series 0. For running, closing 'most' circles, time and temp! :)

    Just now answering texts with it, too! :)

    Best.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 18
    MacPro said:
    Agreed. How quickly we take this tech for granted.  If you'd told someone in 1978 one day they'd have a phone on their wrist let alone a very powerful computer they'd ask what you were smoking.    It's a heck of a leap from an Apple ][ to an Apple Watch 4.
    Nobody who ever read Dick Tracy would ever have questioned that. :)
    revenantwatto_cobra
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