According to market data from Counterpoint Research, Apple shipped 12.9 million models of the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE in the fourth quarter of 2020.
The market saw an overall decline in smartwatch shipments compared to last year due to the ongoing global health crisis. Apple, however, saw a 19% increase in shipments YoY. Apple was the single largest smartwatch maker in Q4 of 2019 when it controlled 34% of the market. In the final quarter of last year, Apple Watch models accounted for 40% of the market share.
Apple's market share consolidation can be attributed to the new Apple Watch SE's success, the mid-range Apple Watch option. Apple released the SE model alongside its flagship Series 6 at a lower $279 price point, with some caveats such as the lack of an always-on display, ECG functionality, and the faster S6 processor.
Counterpoint senior analyst Sujeong Lim says that the new mid-range Apple Watch SE will likely push Samsung and other smartwatch makers to create similar, mid-range options for customers looking for cheaper alternatives to main flagships.
“Second largest” after “Others”??? How about an edit to correct this. “Others” is only a grab-bag of all the other unidentified manufacturers - Apple was the largest by a huge margin.
This is the forum thread ('https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-announces-apple-watch-available-in-early-2015-from-349.1773623/') on the day the Apple Watch was first announced in September 2014.
Here's a couple of examples of the characteristic MacRumors' forum optimism about new Apple products:
One miniaturisation too far. A white elephant. Look for them in eBay in a year. Do you want to be "That Knob With The Apple Watch Over There?" And by 'Knob' we aren't referring to The Digital Crown here, readers.
While I have never been a watch person, I was surprised at how quickly I got used to using the AW. I now feel kind of naked when I am not wearing it.
One thing I hate about the AW, is the handling of SW updates and the small storage size. I cannot update the OS due to not having enough free space. I tried deleting everything that was optional to delete, and I still couldn't free up enough space to do the update.
It appears that if I unpair and reset the watch, I can do the update, but this is a pretty crappy way of handling SW updates.
Overall, I am happy with it, but the SW update issues are quite annoying.
Apple's sudden overtaking of the market can be attributed to the new Apple Watch SE's success, the mid-range Apple Watch option. Apple released the SE model alongside its flagship Series 6 at a lower $279 price point, with some caveats such as the lack of an always-on display, ECG functionality, and the faster S6 processor.
The rest of the tech industry could be in some serious trouble if apple keep releasing these mid range products with flagship processors.
Wednesday April 21, 2021 4:12 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple on Tuesday seeded the release candidate of an upcoming watchOS 7.4 update to developers for testing purposes, and in the process revealed that the Apple Watch ECG feature is coming to additional countries very soon.
Along with iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5, the official public version of watchOS 7.4 is set to be released next week, and Apple Watch users who install it in Australia and...
Apple is weighing up the possibility of launching an Apple Watch with a rugged casing that's made for use in extreme environments, according to a new report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
From the report:
Apple Inc. is considering launching an Apple Watch with a rugged casing aimed at athletes, hikers and others who use the device in more extreme environments, according to people familiar...
Amazon and B&H Photo today have a collection of deals on the latest models of the Apple Watch, including the Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Series 6. Prices start at $259.00 for the 40mm GPS Apple Watch SE, down from $279.00. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the...
In the fourth quarter of 2020, Apple saw its iPhone shipments in Gulf countries increase by 55% compared to the quarter prior, thanks to the launch of the 5G enabled iPhone 12 and last year's iPhone 11 lineup, according to market research by IDC.
In total, the region saw smartphone shipments grow by 2.3% in the last quarter of the year compared to Q3, to a total of 2.26 million units....
Amazon today has discounted the 40mm GPS Apple Watch SE to $259.00, down from $279.00. We have seen the Apple Watch SE drop to a lower price during Black Friday last year, but since then deals have been few and far between. That makes Amazon's new discount among the first sales on the Apple Watch SE in 2021.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
Amazon today has a few deals on the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE, offering up to $60 off these models. Sale prices start at $249.99 for the 40mm Apple Watch SE and at $339.00 for the 40mm Apple Watch Series 6.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
This...
Monday February 22, 2021 9:11 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today shared new Apple Watch ads on its YouTube channel, highlighting the water resistance, ECG, and sleep tracking capabilities of the Apple Watch Series 6.
The short 38 second ads each focus on a specific Apple Watch feature, with a narrator explaining how the Apple Watch works under water, when taking an ECG, and when being used for sleep tracking.
All of the ads feature the...
Monday February 15, 2021 10:11 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released watchOS 7.3.1, a minor update to the watchOS 7 operating system that was released in September. watchOS 7.3.1 comes a couple of weeks after the release of watchOS 7.3.
The watchOS 7.3.1 update can be downloaded for free through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs ...
Apple continued to have a dominant hold on the wearables market in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to new shipment estimates shared today by IDC. Apple shipped 55.6 million wearable devices during the quarter for 36.2 percent market share.
That's the same market share Apple held in the fourth quarter of 2019, but overall device shipments were up from 43.7 million in Q4 2019. Apple's...
Wednesday May 19, 2021 12:07 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple today previewed a long list of new accessibility features coming soon, including AssistiveTouch for the Apple Watch, which will allow users to control an Apple Watch without ever having to touch the display or controls.
Aided by on-device machine learning, the Apple Watch's gyroscope, accelerometer, and heart rate sensor will be able to detect subtle differences in muscle movement and...
Top Rated Comments
Here's a couple of examples of the characteristic MacRumors' forum optimism about new Apple products:
While I have never been a watch person, I was surprised at how quickly I got used to using the AW. I now feel kind of naked when I am not wearing it.
One thing I hate about the AW, is the handling of SW updates and the small storage size. I cannot update the OS due to not having enough free space. I tried deleting everything that was optional to delete, and I still couldn't free up enough space to do the update.
It appears that if I unpair and reset the watch, I can do the update, but this is a pretty crappy way of handling SW updates.
Overall, I am happy with it, but the SW update issues are quite annoying.
The rest of the tech industry could be in some serious trouble if apple keep releasing these mid range products with flagship processors.
Should've entered the midrange market ages ago.