Smartwatch shipments were down 51.6% last quarter

[Jos]

Apple continues to lead the smartwatch market according to the latest IDC report, but it’s clear the segment as a whole isn’t the breakout success many tech firms would have hoped for. In fact, the number of smartwatches shipped over the July-to-September quarter is down 52 percent compared to the same period last year.

Apple shipped 1.1 million smartwatches during the third quarter, down 72% from the 3.9 million it shipped in Q3 2015. That was enough to grab a 41.3% market share, although that down significantly from 70.2% a year earlier. Garmin came in second with 600,000 units sold and 20.5% market share, up from just 2.3% a year ago, while Samsung took the third spot with 400,000 units and Lenovo Group and Pebble were fourth and fifth with 100,000 units each.

IDC argues there are a couple of major factors in the decline in smartwatch shipments. For one thing, many consumers knew that the second generation of the Apple Watch was going to be announced in September thanks to numerous leaks, which caused many of them to hold off on buying until the new device arrived at the end of September.

On the other side of the equation, Google’s decision to hold back Android Wear 2.0 left OEM partners to decide as to whether to launch devices before or after the holidays.

We might still see better numbers for the Apple Watch Series 2.0 as these figures only include two weeks of sale and more appealing devices from the Android camp once Android Wear 2.0 arrives. However, IDC concludes it’s becoming increasingly clear that smartwatches aren’t for everyone. "Having a clear purpose and use case is paramount, hence many vendors are focusing on fitness due to its simplicity,” says senior research analyst Jitesh Ubrani.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/66788-smartwatch-shipments-down-516-last-quarter.html

 

[Lurker101]

That's probably because almost everyone who cared about smart watches has one now, and realises how gimmicky they are

 

[Kibaruk]

That's probably because almost everyone who cared about smart watches has one now, and realises how gimmicky they are

I think you are partly right, on one side most people who wanted on has one, and they have no reason to get another one.

 

[Uncle Al]

And of course it could be dumb people as opposed to smart watches ..... does anyone really want to be shown up by something they strap to their wrist?

 

[Kibaruk]

And of course it could be dumb people as opposed to smart watches ..... does anyone really want to be shown up by something they strap to their wrist?

I like to carry a mini sundial in my pocket. Freaking millennials and their fancy gadgets...

 

[Nobina]

When I think some people defended this garbage...

 

[wiyosaya]

And so goes the 15-minutes of fame for the smart watch.

 

[p51d007]

The "smart" watch was an invention, in search of a solution.
My dumb watch from Casio, costs 30 bucks, keeps time within a minute a year, battery lasts 10 years,
rugged. For everything else, I use my SMARTPHONE.

 

[Bigtruckseries]

"That's probably because almost everyone who cared about smart watches has one now, and realises how gimmicky they are"

I had Applewatch since day one.

Looks great, solidly built, love it- as a watch- but you've gotta charge it DAILY and most functions don't work well since OS updates.

The selfie camera crashes.

The phone app doesn't always connect...

Running one of the fitness programs will kill the battery twice as fast ...

Apple Watch needed to be bigger, perhaps 50 mm .

Always needed a larger battery .

It always need it it's own GPS.

 

[fktech]

My only use for a smart watch is monitoring heart rate while exercising. Tried Apple and Garmin but none worked well for weightlifting, treadmill, elliptical, or any other indoor exercising. Did my homework, read the reviews and did not find a smart watch that could do what I want. Cheap Polar FT1/7 or used Suunto M5 with chest straps while not perfect still work best for me. Who needs to be tracked/monitored all the time?

 

[Squid Surprise]

The flaw here was that tech companies took a device that almost everyone already had, and attempted to make it "disposable"... Smartphones were genius, as you NEED a new one every 2-3 years... People are used to keeping a watch for many many years however.... trying to convince consumers that they need a new watch is an uphill battle - sadly, they'll probably win...

 

[Gadgety1]

The others comprising Huawei, LG, Acer, Sony, sharing 500 000 units between them in the quarter. Ouch. Garmin's growth, only sports segment growing, then? Their THICK $1500 watch isn't that attractive, though.

Android Wear postponing the 2.0 launch is really troubling as they will miss out on Christmas, unless manufacturers plan to sell out their assumed inventory of AW watches.

BTW I use and Huawei AW watch and I like its versatility. Use it for workouts, timer, stop watch, as a voice controlled calculator, and for Google Keep control. I'd like it to be more autonomous, less dependent on the phone, particularly for OK Google commands. I use Google Keep a lot, and I love it. Could improve the Keep control from the watch, particularly sorting by label tag, both for retrieval and entry.

 

[captaincranky]

I had Applewatch since day one.

Of course you did. Was there ever any doubt? Most of us here could have guessed that by now.

Looks great, solidly built, love it- as a watch- but you've gotta charge it DAILY and most functions don't work well since OS updates.

Well, so does the rest of your iJunk. Time to grab a bigger iCounterfeit charger

The selfie camera crashes.

It crashes by itself, or it simply doesn't understand why you want to take selfies in the first place? Remember, iGarbage, "just works", which places the blame squarely on your big mug......., ya big lug.

The phone app doesn't always connect...

Running one of the fitness programs will kill the battery twice as fast ...

Apple Watch needed to be bigger, perhaps 50 mm .

Always needed a larger battery .

It always need it it's own GPS.

You should put it on one of you websites for sale. Try the celebrity collectors item approach. "This iTrinket formerly owned by none other than "bigtruckseries" himself"....

 

[commanderasus]

Only a dumb human would put a device right over their blood vessels to tell them that they are alive. Just what else if this so called smart device doing to our bodies?

 

[captaincranky]

Only a dumb human would put a device right over their blood vessels to tell them that they are alive.

Insecurity on that level has been inbred into all millennials.

Just what else if this so called smart device doing to our bodies?

If your paranoid fantasies are a reality, and so called "smart watches" are dosing people with some sort of lethal radiation, I say, "don't look a gift horse in the mouth". The upside is, perhaps these watches will thin out the herd for us, or at least sterilize them so they can't reproduce.(y)