The Apple Watch just pushed smartwatch sales above those of Swiss watches for the first ever time.
Apple has kept mysteriously quiet when it comes to the sales performance of its first-generation Apple Watch, leading some to speculate that it’s been a flop. However, recent independent figures seem to suggest that it’s doing pretty well.
In fact, Apple’s smartwatch is dominating the smartwatch field, which as a whole has overtaken sales of traditional Swiss watches.
That’s according to research firm Strategy Analytics, at least. The company claims that 8.1 million smartwatches were sold in Q4 of 2015, and that 5.1 million of those were Apple Watches.
When you compare that to the 7.9 million Swiss watch shipments from the same period, you’ll see that there’s been a radical swing. Apple was instrumental to that with a 63 percent share of those Q4 sales, while the next biggest smartwatch vendor was Samsung at 16 percent.
To put the trajectory of these two distinct watch markets in context, those 8.1 million smartwatch sales represent a 316 percent rise from the same period a year before, when just 1.9 million units were shifted.
See also: Apple Watch tips & tricks
Swiss watch sales, meanwhile, fell 5 percent from 8.3 million in Q4 2014.
Needless to say, the surge in smartwatch interest has been largely down to Apple and its divisive Watch. The company is not expected to follow up with a second generation Apple Watch at its forthcoming March event. Rather, most reports point to the release of new straps for the existing range, and a possible Autumn launch for the Apple Watch 2.
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Let us know if you’re happy with the current state of smartwatches in the comments below.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
