“It’s a strange situation: according to research firm Asymco, the world’s most successful watchmaker is Apple, with 2017 revenues eclipsing Rolex,” Alex Doak reports for Wired UK.
Strange, because Apple isn’t a watchmaker per se (whether you consider the Apple Watch a ‘watch’ is a different conversation). But even stranger because Apple wasn’t even making watches until three years ago. One could also argue the smartwatch sector was lacklustre and in danger of stalling before the arrival of Apple’s entrant, which in effect legitimised the market,” Doak reports. “Whatever your feelings about it, there’s no ignoring the fact the Apple Watch is everywhere.”
“It should have come as no surprise, then, that traditional watchmakers – sniffing a potential replay of the devastating effect cheap Far Eastern quartz technology wrought back in the Seventies – were eager to join the gold rush to horology’s newest frontier,” Doak reports. “Now that rush is over, with the histrionics subsequently easing up, and the smartwatch firmly entrenched as a standalone category at the lower end, from Armani to Timex.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple won the smartwatch market long ago, regardless of the number of weak attempts by traditional watchmakers to make their own “smartwatches.” Apple Watch easily outsells all of the wannabes combined. As of calendar Q417, Asymco estimated Apple Watch cumulative sales of 40 million units and revenue of $14.3 billion.
SEE ALSO:
A growing group of users are finding their Apple Watches indispensable – May 22, 2018
Series 3 is now the most popular Apple Watch – March 15, 2018
IDC: Global wearables market grew 7.7% in Q417 and 10.3% in 2017 as Apple Watch seized the lead – March 1, 2018
Apple Watch dominates smartwatch market – March 1, 2018
Apple Watch sets new all-time record for wearables shipments; ‘Apple has won the wearables game’ – analyst – February 7, 2018
Apple Watch sales momentum is growing; unit sales now rival those of Macintosh – January 23, 2018
Apple Watch Series 3 shipments predicted to rise to 23-25 million in 2018 – December 14, 2017
Apple Watch: The war for wearables is over, and Apple won – December 12, 2017
Canalys estimates Apple shipped 3.9 million Apple Watch units in Q317, despite strong demand outstripping supply – November 14, 2017
When Apple Watch surpassed iPod – November 8, 2017
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]