International shipments of the Apple Watch plunged by 19% year-over-year in 2024, marking the second consecutive annual drop in shipments and the fifth quarter in a row the place the wearable noticed falling gross sales, based on new knowledge launched by Counterpoint Analysis.
Counterpoint’s International Smartwatch Cargo Tracker for the fourth quarter of 2024 reveals the Apple Watch seeing cargo declines in all main areas besides India. Probably the most important drop in shipments occurred in North America, which usually accounts for over half of Apple Watch shipments across the globe.
The report believes a number of components contributed to the extended downturn in gross sales. Maybe essentially the most important is the dearth of a latest replace to the Apple Watch SE mannequin. The SE has traditionally been Apple’s hottest smartwatch mannequin when it comes to gross sales quantity in post-launch intervals. The Apple Watch SE was final up to date within the third quarter of 2022. The shortage of an replace for greater than two years was cited by Counterpoint as the important thing driver of the plunge in shipments. By final summer season, it had reportedly grow to be Apple’s least widespread smartwatch.
Whereas Apple launched the Apple Watch Sequence 10 in fall 2024, customers felt little urge to improve from their present mannequin, because the Sequence 10 provided “fewer substantial upgrades” over its predecessor. The Sequence 10 didn’t present the blood oxygen sensor function that had been accessible on older fashions as a consequence of ongoing patent litigation.
Apple failed to supply an Apple Watch Extremely 3 mannequin in 2024, which additionally proved to be a contributing issue within the fall in shipments. The Apple Watch Extremely accounted for over 10% of Apple Watch shipments globally in the course of the earlier 12 months. That share fell to eight% within the fourth quarter of 2024 as a result of lack of a brand new mannequin. Counterpoint says the decline contributed considerably to Apple’s total cargo losses within the superior smartwatch section, as Apple’s piece of the motion fell by 8% year-over-year.
Whereas Apple has seen a decline in its Apple Watch shipments, the Cupertino agency continues to sit down atop the smartwatch class in unit quantity. Nonetheless, the numbers mark a troubling reversal from Apple’s earlier years of spectacular development. In 2021, Apple Watch shipments leapt by 27% in 2021. In 2022, shipments stalled, with Apple reporting a zero p.c year-over-year change in cargo numbers. A ten% plunge in cargo was seen in 2023, and people numbers fell practically twice as a lot throughout 2024.
Different smartwatch makers seem to have benefited from the Apple Watch’s issues, as all different main distributors within the smartwatch class skilled year-over-year development, based on the Counterpoint report.
Apple is predicted to launch a third-generation Apple Watch SE within the coming months, which can reportedly boast a revamped design and probably a cheaper price level. Whereas the Apple Watch SE 3 was anticipated to have a plastic case in place of the present aluminum chassis, that plan has reportedly been dropped. The design crew was reported to be sad with the look of the plastic case, which additionally didn’t lead to any significant financial savings over the aluminum chassis.
We must also see an Apple Watch Sequence 11 and Apple Watch Extremely 3 debut alongside the iPhone 17 lineup in September. The Sequence 11 is rumored to boast new well being monitoring capabilities, whereas the Extremely 3 is predicted to get 5G and satellite tv for pc connectivity.