Apple Watch – the name either brings up intense desire or intense dislike. Fanboys can’t help but drool over this hi-tech watch, but those who’re less fond of Apple are baffled by the product. Reactions can vary from ’35,000 rupees for a glorified Fitbit??!!’ to ’Who the hell wants to check emails on a 38mm screen?’ to ‘You’d look like a bloody idiot talking to your wrist!”
Despite its obvious allure and design superiority, everyone believed that Apple Watch was a long way from becoming a mainstream product. It was a good-for-nothing gimmicky toy for people who had too much spare change lying around.
How wrong we were.
According to Strategy Analytics, Apple shipped 5.2 million watches all over the world in the fourth quarter of 2016. With this, they’re dominating more than 60% of the global market and account for 2 out of 3 smartwatches on the planet.
Samsung is Apple’s ‘closest’ competitor, if you can call them that. They only shipped 800,000 smartwatches in the same quarter and hold less than 10% of the market share. Other brands like Fitbit, Huawei, and Garmin make up 26% of the share
Apple couldn’t have asked for a better vindication. Anybody who was dissing the Apple Watch has no alternative but to hang his head in shame and walk away with his tail tucked firmly between his legs.