- The global smartwatch market fell 7% in 2024, the first ever decline in the overall market.
- Apple retained its top position, despite a 19% YoY decline in shipments due to tighter competition and weaker upgrade cycles.
- China captured the biggest shipment share for the first time, driven by the strong performance of Chinese brands including Huawei, Xiaomi and BBK (Imoo).
- Kids smartwatch was the only segment to witness a rise, as parents’ awareness increased, and brands expanded in this category.
I had an Apple Watch for a while. I used it to track my steps and workouts and to monitor some notifications. Once in forever I’d pick up a call on it because my hands were full.
Eventually I realized I never actually DID anything with the fitness info, the notifications were annoying and stressful, and the times I’d use it as a communicator I could count on one hand.
When the battery finally started dying I couldn’t justify the expense of a new one.
The thing actively made my life worse!
Yeah, I was an early adopter of a smartwatch. I had an android watch before apple watch was even a thing. One day, while on vacation in Croatia, I jumped off a boat into the Adriatic with it on, and those early models weren’t really waterproof. I kinda shook it off because like you said, I never really used or cared about any of the data, and I was kinda over it as a gimmicky, fairly useless thing. It was kinda cool to be able to read and reply to texts without taking my phone out of my pocket, but it wasn’t a game changer. Then my birthday came around and my gf got me a new smartwatch, so I kinda had to wear one again for a while. I wore it for a bit, and then one day, just kinda stopped charging and using it altogether. There is no wow factor with them imo.
I don’t keep my phone on me for large parts of the day. The AW has just enough connectivity to get me the information I need without being a distraction. I’ve found it motivates me to do gardening, landscaping, etc. because I can track that as a workout. The weather alerts are also nice for that since it lets you know a few minutes before it starts/stops raining.
Mine is 7 years old now and the battery still lasts all day so I feel no need to replace it. I wonder if device longevity combined with lack of meaningful improvements might be slowing sales. They seem like the sort of device you wear until it stops working for a full day or you break it.
I’m in the same boat, my apple watch collects dust in the drawer. My next watch is going to be a classic one.