Apple Watch took 51% of Q4 smartwatch market

• Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) Watch represented half of the 18M global smartwatch shipments in Q4, according to Strategy Analytics data.
• Total global shipments grew 56% Y/Y.
• Q4 market share: Apple, 51% (last year: 67%); Samsung (OTC:SSNNF,OTC:SSNLF), 13% (was: 5%); Fitbit (NYSE:FIT), 13% (was: 4%); Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN), 6% and flat on the year.

Comments

[Student of_Value Investing]

No Xiaomi this time?

[fintax]

I'm loving my Fitbit Charge 3! It does what I need for now.
I had considered the Apple Watch, but there were 4 deal breakers - 1) battery life on the Apple just sucks! I get a full week on the Fitbit. And 2) The Fitbit tracks Sleeping, while the Apple does not. At # 3, At a young 68 yrs old, I don't fall down very often, so this feature has no value for me at this time. And lastly, # 4) PRICE! I got the Charge 3 at 1/2 the cost of the Apple.

Now, don't get me wrong, as I will buy an Apple Watch once they catch up with the Fitbit in terms of battery life and sleep-tracking mode. No doubt, Apple will have added more features also.

Long AAPL!

[skifun333]

"The Fitbit tracks Sleeping, while the Apple does not."

Have you never heard the refrain-- there's an app for that?

My AW tracks my sleep very well with an app called SleepWatch. I get ~2 days on one battery charge. When it gets low I charge it in the morning while I'm getting ready for work.

[JReacher]

This.

[KBREW]

Only 51%?
Thing is; you either have an Apple Watch, are going to buy an Apple Watch, or wish you had purchased an Apple Watch. Plenty of upside in this category. Long $AAPL

[Aspiring Penguin]

I think ppl are over thinking things.. just buy great companies like apple, Boeing, Cisco, Nike, MSFT etc at good prices. (when there is a sell off) Tune out the noise. Long term, you can't lose

[Who Dat?]

Aspiring,
Motorola and Nokia were “great” companies too until Apple leaped frogged them. No guarantee that Apple will dominate in the next 5 years.

[Aspiring Penguin]

apple doesn't need to dominate the world for it to be a good investment. it needs to maintain some semblance of creativity and some business savvy. Look at Nike. its products are all commodities. look at Starbucks. Just coffee seller. Yet these companies have been insanely good investments. As long as apple mgmt executes decent enough with strategy and innovation, this giant will outlive you & me.

[MacAfrican]

Only HALF???

Disappointed!

/s (sarcasm font)

[Who Dat?]

This data from Data Analytics seems to have flaws (holes)

Just yesterday, FIT announced they sold 5.6M wearables in Q4 ‘18. However, Data Analytics shows 2.3M sold.

Furthermore, on a “global” basis, Apple is not the global leader in smart watches. That title goes to Xiaomi as of Q3’ 18. I have not seen new data from another source for the entire 2018. At the end of Q3’18, Apple was a far 2nd while FIT was a close 3rd on a global basis.

Take this data from Data Analytics for what it’s worth.... Apple’s propaganda.

[Bruce24]

@Who Dat? ... "FIT announced they sold 5.6M wearables in Q4 ‘18. However, Data Analytics shows 2.3M sold. "

Smartwatches are a subset of Wearables. The fitness trackers products Fitbit sells aren't considered Smartwathches.

[Who Dat?]

Bruce,
That’s silly talk. What do you think Fitbit Versa and Iconic are? That shows how little people know about anything else besides Apple is great mentality.

I own FIT stock for one reason only. I hope that Amazon acquires FIT so that they can incorporate Alexa to their Amazon Pay. Amazon Pay is DOA without the wearables and smartphones. This is where I think it’s perfect timing for Amazon to enter into 5G phones race.

[Bruce24]

@Who Dat? ... "What do you think Fitbit Versa and Iconic are?"

Per Fitbit.com they are Smartwatches and it seems Fitbit sold 2.3M of them last quarter while selling another 3.3M of their Alta, Ace and Charge Fitness Trackers. If you don't like the distinction, that's fine, but I suggest you talk to Fitbit about it seeing how they make the distinction in products types on their website.

[szeducate]

The potential for the watch is just coming to fruition. Medical insurance companies are starting to realize the things that the watch can do regarding medical issues and that will help people who are aging --- which is the fastest growing segment of our population. Once insurance companies start reimbursing customer the Apple watch will fly off the selves. Now it can tell us about our heart beat, when we have fallen, and transmit an EKG to a doctor or a hospital. Who knows the true potential of this item. I went back and looked at commentary when the iPhone first came out. Many ridiculed it, including the CEO of Microsoft at the time, forgot his name. Same as the watch when it was first sold. It seems to be building an audience as time goes by. My grandson loves his and uses it almost exclusively instead of taking out his iPhone from his pocket.

[max cric]

Apple lost 16% of the market share, that is more correct

[Notamuggle]

First they said Apple can't innovate and now everybody is copying their wearable features and airpods. Then they say the Iphone is too expensive and now everybody else is in the same price and above with a $2500 folding phone that looks like an ice cream sandwich.
We don't believe you!!!

[Sharpe Ratio]

But they are just a phone company!! And the smartphone market is saturated.

And before that they were just a tablet company

And before that they were just a PC company

[cwagn111]

"Apple's Watch represented half (51%) of the 18M global smartwatch shipments in Q4, . . ."

So Apple's 51% = ~9M watches, globally; and Apple's TOTAL (worldwide) sales (all products, but mostly iPhones) = ~1B+, so total watch sales = 0.9% of all Apple product sales. To me. that's not such a big deal, but it is a start. I 'spose that's a fair assessment.

[Bruce24]

@cwagn111...."So Apple's 51% = ~9M watches, globally; and Apple's TOTAL (worldwide) sales (all products, but mostly iPhones) = ~1B"

A billion what? devices? If that's what you're looking at you're off by a lot. Quarterly iPhone + iPad + Mac + Tv + iPod sales are way closer to 100M than 1B.

If you want to consider revenue, Apple's total last quarter was $84B they sold 9.2M watches, if they get an average of $400 for them then that would be $3.7B in revenue or 4.4% of sales.

[bullsrunfrombears]

I am still looking for the disclosure from Apple regarding how many they sell. Can anyone post an official Apple number and not a guess? Thanks.

[ThetaSeeker]

Just like with smart phones years ago, people are failing to grasp the reality that Apple has a MUCH larger share of profits. Market share can be purchased by competitors with low/negative margins, but Apple maintains high margins on every watch sold.

I had a Fitbit years ago and it was the biggest piece of crap. I’m a bit surprised that the company is still around but I guess in a growing market there’s always room for bottom feeders.

[bullsrunfrombears]

seeker, 30M people disagree with you. Not everyone sees the world like you do.

[Moon Kil Woong]

This is a smart market to be in. Once again Samsung and rivals are following suit. It is a window into healthcare which is its own big market. That said, the concern about the cell phone market is real. Rotation in this market is slowing and frankly, saturation point has been reached in terms of how many users there are in most developed countries.

[SayItWithLyrics]

Be a little careful with this data. Strategic Analytics (the source of the study) separates "wearables" into smart watches, basic feature watches, and fitness bands (and other categories for VR headsets, etc). This report is just on the smart watch segment.

For all wearables, StrategicAnalytics says: "Global wearables shipments jumped an impressive +31% YoY in Q4 2018. Apple, Fitbit and Xiaomi battled for top spot. Smartwatches and basic watches were strong, offset partly by weakness in fitness bands"

For those really interested in this category, it is probably worth your effort to dig up their "wearables" report.

Please don't interpret this post as a positve or negative statement re Apple, just as a clarification of facts.

[Who Dat?]

liquorisquicker,
I just finished reading your post after I had posted my comment. I agree with you. Please See below.

[Expert#704]

I don't know about others experience, but I'm seeing an increasing number of people at the gym wearing both a Fitbit and a AW. Apple clearly isn't doing it right for a lot of people.

[GP8008]

AAPL needs to get the battery life up to 5 days or so, that's really the only advantage Fitbit has. I've gone through multiple fitbit products and their QC is pretty poor, their stuff just isn't designed to last and fails or breaks. Apple dropped the price on the gen 3 watch to like $200 for GPS only, at that price point they are one of the cheapest options, which is amazing... an apple watch 3 @ $200 is waaay better than the fitbit versa at the same price point.

All this being said, most serious runners stick with Garmin.

[Atheist]

Expert - with the same argument you could have also said: Fitbit clearly isn't doing it right for a lot of people.

[milehr]

@GP8008: AW has a shorter battery life because the device is doing so much more. They need some sort of a kinetic mechanism, although it is too much to fit in a small package for now.

[pauliedeuce]

I still wear my gen 1. Need to get the next one myself to get the afibb reader and some of the other bells and whistles. Love my Apple Watch

[md#23]

So, Apple has created a lucrative market for Samsung and Fitbit. After that the units wall has been hit in the best iPhone style.

[ZML]

I walked around the Huanqiang electronics street today in Shenzhen (it's actually its own part of town). It's pretty shocking to see hundreds of shops (factory showrooms) selling the Apple watchbands, cases and stands. There are some others but 90% are for the Apple Watch. It's the same with the iPhone accessories. They are rebuilding every iPhone model and selling them as refurbished, big business and for sure is affecting Apple's new phone sales.

[JP24]

ZML - Interesting observation and post. Definitely impacts near term results but is generally very positive for Apple in the long haul. It’s because of things like you describe that cause Apple’s overall impact and market share numbers to be seriously understated.

[PSalerno]

Fitbit is gaining market share from Apple in the SW space, while Garmin is flat.