Apple Watch loses steam as global smartwatch shipments dropped in 2024
For the first time ever, global smartwatch shipments declined in 2024, with Apple experiencing its sharpest downturn yet.
Apple Watch Ultra
According to a recent report by Counterpoint Research, the worldwide smartwatch market fell by 7% in 2024, marking the market's first-ever annual decline. Apple maintained its leading market share position, but saw a significant 19% year-over-year drop in shipments.
Apple's shipment struggles were notably pronounced in North America, driven by the absence of anticipated models like the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and limited new features in the existing Apple Watch Series 10.
Analysts attribute Apple's slide to tougher competition, minimal upgrades in Apple's S10 lineup, and patent issues affecting the first half of the year. These patent issues include legal battles with medical technology firms AliveCor and Massimo.
AliveCor accused Apple of infringing on its electrocardiogram (ECG) technology patents, initially securing a favorable ruling from the International Trade Commission that recommended an import ban.
Apple's victory at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office led to the dismissal of the case. Meanwhile, a separate dispute with Masimo resulted in an import ban on Apple Watches containing certain ECG features.
Additionally, sluggish performance from the Apple Watch SE lineup, along with no updates to these entry-level models, contributed to weaker consumer interest. While Apple faltered, Samsung and Xiaomi gained ground.
Global market share for smartwatches. Image credit: Counterpoint Research
Samsung recorded a modest 3% increase in shipments, spurred by new models like the Galaxy Watch 7, Galaxy Watch Ultra, and Galaxy Watch FE series. Xiaomi surged into the top five brands globally for the first time, driven by the popularity of its Watch S1 and Redmi Watch series.
Image credit: Counterpoint Research
China overtook North America and India to become the leading smartwatch market globally, propelled by local brands such as Huawei, Xiaomi, and Imoo. China's rise was bolstered by a diverse portfolio that appealed to varied consumer segments, including children's smartwatches.
Recovery may be gradual for Apple Watch
Moving forward, Counterpoint predicts a slow recovery for the smartwatch market, forecasting modest single-digit growth in 2025. Future smartwatch models, for both Android and iOS, are expected to feature advanced AI capabilities and enhanced health sensors.
These sensors address conditions like atrial fibrillation, sleep apnea, hypertension, and diabetes. Brands will likely focus on regulatory approvals for advanced health features to rejuvenate consumer interest and drive market recovery.
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Comments
I thought the Masimo deal was about the blood oxygen sensor, not ECG.
From the heart (no investment in Apple, don't work for them or anyone associated, just an engineer who appreciates well engineered products), the watch is now indispensable for me. No matter how heavy I made the buzz on my phone before, I always used to miss things. That and being able to listen to music while I workout without carrying my phone around are the biggest reasons it's indispensable.
That said, if they made another device which was smaller, lighter and could do the same things, I'd gladly give up wearing something on my wrist.
Quote from article: 'Analysts attribute Apple's slide slide to tougher competition,'
I presume that doubling up on the word slide makes the slide more pronounced.
On the topic of the Apple Watch my partner has an Apple Watch and an Oura Ring. She relies on the Apple Watch when she doesn't want to take her phone along or out and the ring for her extensive health stats. Much more so than the Apple Watch.
Overall it is a challenging market and Apple needs a few big hits in its basket to make 2025 a big year. So far we have the anaemic 16e. On the plus side I just ordered the M4 MBA. Looking forward to that one.
Let's see what magic Apple can pull out of its hat? I hope that it is not relying just on yet just another phone with bonus AI. From what I read and see AI is turning out to be another dot.com boom.
That said, I would be surprised if this reported downturn in sales wasn't accurate. Functionally, the last few generations of Apple's watch have been doing all you need it to do and all it's capable of doing, at least for now. The design hasn't changed all that much over time, so minus compelling new features or new design, there's not a lot to drive new sales or upgrades from older models. I think everyone knows the holy grail for a new burst of sales would be accurate blood pressure and glucose monitoring, but that tech is still not here. Yeah, yeah, Samsung already offers a useless, crap version of it, but I'm talking about features that actually work and do so accurately.
Daily charging never bothered me, so does my phone.
I stopped wearing my Watch 5 at the beginning of the pandemic and working from home. No use for it. I wear it once in awhile if I go out, but other than that, it is just a decoration. Amazon has the Watch 10 at a $100 discount, great price, but the new features are so minimal, no reason to upgrade at all. The article is correct. So few updates with each new release, not worth buying a new one, especially since battery life is still a measly one day if you are lucky....unless you waste $800 on an Ultra. You would think after 10 years, they would have improved battery life, but nope, still the same one day battery life.
It’s nice for workouts but I noticed not wearing it outside of sports that much.
Even for workouts it seems to be rather ‘stupid’. It’s not immediately intuitively clear how to break an activity in rounds (someone told me - I forgot), it’s hard to edit workout data after the fact such as correcting for forgetting to turn it off.
It doesn’t have any intelligence to suggest “did you finish your workout?” such as relying on previous behavioral data, e.g regular workout hours, starting to drive (a very indicator you are no longer working out!).
The Apple Watch was a novel device in the beginning, but I’m longing more for an actual mechanical watch that was build by craftsmen. And just use the Apple Watch for my CrossFit WODs and running.
My Apple Watch is an essential piece of that puzzle for several aspects of what tech brings to my life. The Apple Watch’s personal health awareness and its ability to allow me to park my iPhone in certain situations are the two standout features for me. The medication reminders and trackers are invaluable to me staying on track with my meds. On the sleep front, I have two and sometimes three or more sleep health doctors meeeting with me regularly at one of the world’s most prestigious health care organizations and they are completely onboard with me using my Apple Watch and the Autosleep app for personal sleep tracking and sleep management. It’s a tool.
The Apple Watch is not a replacement for my sleep doctors, but it has had a huge positive impact on my sleep health. The thing it does best is provide me with a daily snapshot of key sleep factors and maintain a trend of how these factors change over time. If you’re trying to register the impact of changes to a system, with your sleep being a system level function in your body and brain, nothing beats trending, both short term trending and long term trending. Even if a therapist doesn’t believe in the personal sleep (or health) tracking features in a smartwatch due to assumed inaccuracies or lack of certified calibration, the trending capability is still valid, as long as they aren’t completely random. It’s all about cause and effect. If my doctors change one of my meds or if I change one of my behaviors, like no longer taping my iPhone to my face 24x7, the trend data should change if changing those things actually influence my sleep quality.
My biggest personal knock on the Apple Watch is its size and weight when it comes to sleep tracking. I have the Ultra 2 and it is kind of a beast with raised edges. If I roll over and hit my wife in the face with it, the consequences could be rather unpleasant for her, but more so, for me. I’d prefer that Apple build a lightweight companion wrist band (or ring) that was conformal and posed no threat to anyone around me when I’m in bed while still collecting all of the vital data (which should include blood oxygen levels dammit!).
Other than that, the Apple Watch will never fill the gap filled by wearing a classic jewelry quality personal timepiece that has sentimental value and is something to pass on to your kids or someone important in your life. The Apple Watch is still a tech gadget no matter how much you spend for it or embellish it with superfluous bling-ness. Tech gadgets with batteries and software/firmware that has to supported for some period of time to sustain its functional usefulness is living on borrowed time. Once the clock runs out on its software/firmware updates and the required one-of-a-kind batteries dies, it simply becomes an inanimate object with no real functional purpose. I suppose you could melt down the gold in the original Edition version to recoup a little bit of cash, but other than that it’s just another dead gadget that your kids don’t want any more than your swizzle stick collection.