Where the iPhone is unabated popular, that does not apply to the Apple Watch. The sale of the Apple Watch even fell enormously against the past years.
Sale of the Apple Watch
Apple has to deal with a disappointing sale at the Apple Watch. New research by Counterpoint Research has shown that the smartwatch became much less popular in both 2023 and 2024. That is striking, because in 2021 and 2022 the Apple Watch was sold much more often. In 2021, the sale of the smartwatch grew by no less than 27 percent compared to a year earlier.
This growth stagnated in 2022, to even decrease a year later. In 2023, ten percent fewer Apple Watches was sold than a year earlier. Last year Apple saw a further decrease, because in 2024 the sale of the Apple Watch fell by 19 percent compared to 2023. The smartwatch of the company has been supplying popularity for two years now, but that makes that exactly?
No Apple Watch SE and Ultra
Apple has released three new Apple Watches in recent years. In 2023 the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 appeared, a year later the Apple Watch Series 10 followed. The Apple Watch se has not had an update for a long time, because the current generation came out in 2022. According to the study, that is an important reason that the sale of the Apple Watch is decreasing. The cheap Apple Watch is usually very popular, but has not been renewed for years.
The third generation of the Apple Watch Ultra was expected in 2024, but that release is still taking. According to research, the Apple Watch Ultra provided around ten percent of the total sale at the smartwatch. The lack of the Apple Watch Ultra 3 also contributes to the declining popularity. Both the Apple Watch SE and the Apple Watch Ultra are sold less often, because no new models have been released.
(Too) few new functions
The Apple Watch Series 10 did appear in 2024, but according to the research had (too) few new functions. For users with an earlier version of the Apple Watch, there is hardly any change to switch to a newer model. The differences between the latest Apple Watches are so small, so that users no longer need a new smartwatch every year.
In addition, some of the new functions is not available in the United States. Apple has lost a patent store there, so that the oxygen meter on American Apple Watches is eliminated. That makes the differences between models even smaller and that can be seen in the sale of the Apple Watch. Sales in the United States has fallen the most.
New Apple Watches are coming
According to the research, there are several ways to improve the sale of the Apple Watch. The next version of the smartwatch must in any case get more new functions, so that users have more reasons to switch to another model. In addition, a new design can contribute to a higher sale. That is a striking suggestion from the researchers, because the Apple Watch Series 10 received an adapted design last year.
In any case, it is expected that the sale of the Apple Watch in 2025 is much higher. Apple is releasing no fewer than three new smartwatches this year, because we see the Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch SE 2025 and Apple Watch Ultra 3. These are announced in September, at the same time as the iPhone 17 series. Don’t you want to wait that long? Then view the lowest prices of the Apple Watch Series 10 here:
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