Apple Watch shipments down 29% in two years, blamed on lack of new features

[midian182]

In brief: Is Apple resting on its laurels with the Apple Watch series? The company has long dominated the wearables market with its popular smartwatch, but shipments have declined for two years in a row, including a massive 19% YoY dip in 2024. But things could improve in 2025 thanks to the arrival of some redesigned models.

Apple's smartwatch shipments have seen their fifth straight quarter of falling sales, according to a new report from Counterpoint Research. The 19% YoY decline in 2024 follows a 10% drop in 2023, marking an overall 29% dip since 2022.

Apple Watches saw declines globally with the exception of India. Somewhat surprisingly, most of the declining shipments were driven by the significant fall in the North American market.

Counterpoint writes that a lack of a new Apple Watch SE model was the biggest factor behind the falling shipments. Apple's value model has been its most popular version of its smartwatch post-launch, thanks to the flagship-level speed and all the core health, fitness, and safety features – but without the pricier sensors and always-on screen. The last SE model arrived in the third quarter of 2022.

The analyst firm also cites fewer substantial upgrades in the Apple Watch Series 10, giving consumers less incentive to upgrade to the latest model. It has also been affected by the lawsuit stemming from a patent dispute with medical device maker Masimo, which resulted in Apple being required to disable the blood oxygen sensor on its US models.

Apple never released an Apple Watch Ultra 3 in 2024. The Ultra line had accounted for over 10% of Apple Watch shipments globally, but the lack of a new model meant its share dropped to under 8% in the fourth quarter of 2024. Combined with the lack of a Watch SE, it means that Q3 2024 was the first time Apple saw a YoY shipment decline during a quarter in which a new smartwatch series was also launched.

Counterpoint writes that in order to turn around its Apple Watch fortunes, Apple needs to introduce new features, upgrade the design, and launch Watch SE and Watch Ultra models this year.

Despite the declines, Apple continues to lead the global smartwatch market with a 42% share, though this has shrunk by 8% compared to 2023. It was also the only brand in the top five to experience a shrinking market share as rivals such as Samsung and Huawei made big gains.

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Apple Watch shipments down 29% in two years, blamed on lack of new features

 

[Eldrach]

Well - I for one won’t upgrade until it gets a decent battery life. My Apple Watch 6 lasts around 18 hours - which is pretty horrible. The new one is like 20 hours, which is also horrible. You can get one that lasts 36 hours if you want to pay the same amount as for a new phone, but even that is pretty terrible.

A smart watch should last «a long weekend» so you can use it for hiking etc.
A smart watch should be possible to charge on a regular charging plate and with usb-c

Apple instead makes the screen a tiny tidbit larger and the watch a tiny bit faster without improving the battery.

Other watch manufacturers have smart watches that lasts a full week - Apple is too concerned about the sleek look and don’t want to sacrifice an ounce of thickness to make a better product

 

[Watzupken]

Almost every hardware from Apple is experiencing decline in sales. The problem stems from,
1. Lack of any meaningful improvement gen on gen. It may take as long as 3 or 4 generations before I see any reason to buy a new Apple device. It’s just plain boring and predictable. The only thing changing significantly is,
2. Price increase.
3. Lastly, Apple cannot even figure that battery life is important in a watch and after so many years, the Apple Watch still comes with rubbish battery life.

Even new products are not new. Tim seems to think anything Apple work on will magically fly off the shelves. The Vision Pro proves that there is nothing magical when you try to sell a product that’s proven to have limited interest with a ridiculous price.

 

[AlexIL]

I have a ten years old MacBook. See zero reason to upgrade. Upgrade to what? What exactly that hugely overpriced thing will provide? Sleeker screen? Battery life a few hours more? At that price? Dell offers a flagship at a price of mediocre MacBook.