Apple Watch continues to dominate smartwatch market, but challenges lie ahead

“Apple shipped 2.8 million of its Apple Watch wearables in the third quarter of this year, accounting for nearly half the total market for smartwatches,” Steve Ranger reports for ZDNet. “Canalys calculated that total smartwatch shipments stood at 6.1 million for the quarter – an increase of 60 percent on last year.”

“These new figures are a very different to those published by IDC last month which said that total smartwatch shipments for the third quart of 2016 only reached 2.7 million units – down 51.6 percent from the 5.6 million units shipped in the same quarter in 2015,” Ranger reports. “In contrast IDC said Apple only managed to ship 1.1 million smartwatches in the quarter, a big drop from the 3.9 million shipped in the year-ago quarter.”

MacDailyNews Take: Since Apple does not release Apple Watch unit sales figures for competitive reasons, all of these estimates are just that, estimates or, in other words, educated guesses. Some are more educated than others.

“But Canalys said “despite reports to the contrary” Apple Watch shipments compared favourably to those in the third quarter of 2015, the first full quarter after the original Apple Watch’s launch,” Ranger reports. “However, it’s not all good news for Apple: while the new models are selling well, there are still unsold first-generation Apple Watches in the channel, according to Canalys analyst Daniel Matte, and much will depend on how sales go in the fourth quarter.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Hence the Macy’s and Kohl’s deals.

SEE ALSO:
Kohl’s to sell Apple Watch at 400 stores starting November 15th – November 3, 2016
Macy’s adds Apple Watch to over 180 stores in time for holiday season, opens ‘The Apple Shop’ in Herald Square store – October 17, 2016
Hello, Dick Tracy! CMRA band delivers two HD cameras to Apple Watch – November 2, 2016
IDC: Apple Watch continues to dominate the worldwide smartwatch market – October 24, 2016
Computerworld reviews Apple Watch Series 2: Delivers on first generation’s promise – October 21, 2016
Computerworld reviews Apple Watch Series 2: It’s time to jump in – September 27, 2016
Ars Technica reviews Apple Watch Series 2: ‘Great experience with very few hiccups’ – September 22, 2016
Mossberg reviews Apple’s watchOS 3: Quicker, easier, and more useful – September 21, 2016
CNET reviews Apple Watch Series 2: ‘The smooth wrist companion it was always meant to be’ – September 14, 2016
WSJ reviews Apple Watch Series 2: ‘Apple Watch finds its purpose in life’ – September 14, 2016
The Verge reviews Apple Watch Series 2: There’s something effortlessly cool about it – September 14, 2016
Apple Watch Series 2: Apple refocuses its smartwatch – September 12, 2016
Apple and Nike launch the perfect running partner, Apple Watch Nike+ – September 7, 2016

4 Comments

  1. I thought the whole watch idea was just silly and had no interest in it. I received one as a gift and tried it out for awhile.
    I use it all the time, it’s great and I am shocked!I have that senior problem off CRS …. can’t remember stuff. The watch reminds me to take my pills on time, get up and exercise, take a minute to breathe and lower my pulse. It takes the place of a bedside clock since by just touching it, it tells me the time then turns off. The battery lasts the whole day with much to spare. Since I take off my watch at night anyway, I charge it then with my iPhone.
    This is no silly gadget. It makes my life much easier and healthier. Tom to it all off, this is the original one and not the 2nd version!

  2. MDN, if Apple is so sly not to reveal the sales figures for its latest product line, they why does it proudly report the figures for the Mac and iOS product lines? You know, the ones that actually make money?

    Oh. I guess maybe I just answered my own question.

    The Apple Watch, if it ever does make any money, is a distraction. I blame the goddamned Watch and the absurd Apple Dream Car boondoggle for wasting the resources needed to maintain and expand the much neglected Mac lineups. Apple has no excuses — it’s just bad product management to let your core business grow stale while instead hawking $10k jewelry and rose gold fashion accessories.

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