Apple Watch Market Share Fell by 7% Yet Still Dominates

The Apple Watch market share fell by 7% in 2018, but it still dominates the smartwatch industry at 41% (via Counterpoint).

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Apple Watch Market Share

In the latest research by Counterpoint’s Global Smartwatch Tracker, global smartwatch shipments grew 37% YoY in Q2 2018. In 2017 Apple had 48% of the market, and in 2018 it fell to 41%. The amount of market share Apple lost is what Google is holding at with its Android wearables at 7%.

chart of apple watch market share

Research Director Neil Shah noted that the Apple Watch Series 1 is the most popular, despite Apple adding LTE connectivity to the Series 3.

…Series 1 remains the most popular model contributing to almost nine out of ten Apple Watch sold in Q2 2018. While this is great for Apple from an ecosystem perspective, from an ASP perspective it is not the same bump as Apple would expect with newer iPhone models every year.

Most people seem to be choosing the Apple Watch for its fitness capabilities, and less as a temporary replacement for their iPhone with LTE models. With the Apple Watch Series 4 right around the corner, will Apple be able to convince people to replace their Series 1 models?

[What to Expect From the Next Apple Watch, Series 4]

4 thoughts on “Apple Watch Market Share Fell by 7% Yet Still Dominates

  • This data is super good news for Apple. Anyone looking for a high end Apple Watch now is waiting for the Apple Watch Series 4, so one would expect a huge dip in Apple Watch sales this last quarter. The fact that Series 1 sales are robust means that Apple is winning both the high end and the low end of the market. Series 1 buyers would otherwise be looking at FitBits, not Series 3.

    1. Nope. High end Apple Watch Series 3 sales fell of a cliff because of the incoming Series 4. As a result, all of the Apple Watches sold in this past quarter were Series 1. This means that Apple is selling many more Series 1 watches than all of FitBit sales combined. Next quarter total Apple Watch sales (Series 4 sales plus whatever the new low end Apple Watch will be) will totally crush the rest of the market.

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