Red alert for the Apple Watch. According to Counterpoint, shipments of Apple's smartwatches plunged by 19% in 2024, a decline that is all the more problematic given that it comes after a year in 2023 that was also down (-10%). And 2022 had seen a stable volume of shipments (0%).
The Apple Watch is losing steam
The Apple Watch has declined in all markets, except for India, which is holding up well. Worryingly for the Apple company, the decline is particularly pronounced in its largest market, the United States, which accounts for more than half of smartwatch shipments. In the "advanced" (premium) smartwatch segment, the Apple Watch's market share contracted by 8 points in 2024. This benefits rivals, who for their part recorded growth in their deliveries in the last quarter.
The results for the first quarter of 2025 are unlikely to be much better. Apple actually saw a 5% drop in revenue for its "other products" category, which includes sales of the Apple Watch (as well as HomePod, AirPods, Apple TV, and Beats products).
The reason for this drop in shipments is the lack of new products, according to Counterpoint. The Apple Watch Series 10 certainly brought cosmetic changes (thinner case, larger screen), but fundamentally the product is similar to previous generations. It lacks the health sensor or the feature that would have made this model stand out.
Perhaps the refresh rate—one new generation per year—is too fast? The Series 10 didn't bring a breath of fresh air, and neither the Apple Watch Ultra nor the Apple Watch SE were updated. As a result, the Ultra saw its market share drop from 10% to 8% in the fourth quarter. As for the Watch SE, which generally represents the bulk of shipments after the launch of a new generation, the lack of a new version is the main cause of the decline in shipments in the third quarter of 2024.
For 2025, Apple will therefore have to work twice as hard to revive interest in its smartwatches. There's no shortage of ideas—especially this non-invasive blood glucose sensor—but the technology isn't necessarily there to integrate them right away.
Source: Counterpoint
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