The demand for smartwatches has grown incredibly during the last few years. It is becoming an essential component alongside smartphones and creating a solid space in the consumer field. The visionary man and cofounder of Apple, Steve Jobs said: “Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything”. Steve Jobs was right. This was a legit prediction that we can see right now. The leading global technology market analyst, Canalys states; over 41.7 million wearables shipped globally in the first quarter of 2022. AppleInsider’s research says that the market share of smart devices increased up to 13% percent in the first quarter of 2022 overall. So, why not tech giants focus on this segment to sustain and increase their market share? Why not bring the people into their ecosystem and let them be beneficial?
Do you know why Apple, Google, and Samsung are focusing on making smartwatches? Well, in the last three decades, the cell phone might have given people freedom from the wire, but there were some gaps where the innovation could go further. That’s why Apple, Google, and Samsung are focusing on making smartwatches. Let’s dive deep into this.
Overview
Gradually, it seems like All three companies, Apple, Samsung, and Google have come to a limitation in providing something almost new to their users. In this case, smartwatches are still ripe for innovation, and can actually be considered the next big thing in the tech world. On top of that, this generation has become more conscious about their health and fitness. This is where smartwatches can come in handy, as they now come with some advanced health sensors and also tracks heart rates and other health metrics quite accurately. And, obviously, the more the consumer, the more the profit, ultimately leading these companies to compete with each other for creating the best smartwatches.
From talking over the watch, sending messages, to checking notifications, it’s not surprising that you can do all these activities from your wrist. Moreover, most of the features that you might get in the phone, can be used with a snap without switching to a smartphone. Though there are some drawbacks of smartwatches in terms of battery and price you can’t deny their weight and seamless user experiences. The famous YouTuber, Lewis Hilsenteger shared his experiences with Apple Watch Ultra and mentioned some merits and demerits. He says: “I don’t know how many people are prepared to completely replace their phone with a watch and I don’t think it’s many but I think some are just curious about what that life would be like”
It’s clear that smartwatches are beneficial and it has a long way to go. This is the reason tech brands are in this business. Talking about brands we must mention the market-leading brand, Apple. They are winning right now in this segment. But, the question is, how and why Apple is winning?
Apple’s Win
The brightest star in the smartwatch market, Apple released its first smartwatch in 2015, and it quickly became the best-selling smartwatch globally. Apple captured around 75 percent of the smartwatch shipment market within the first few months of that year. Apple is now the leader in the tech industry.
Undoubtedly, Apple can see, there is great potentiality and aptitude from the consumers. So, it showed us how we could seamlessly stay connected without smartphones sometimes. It created a sense of the necessity of smartwatches. Then, gradually, the demand for the device goes up. As a result, they have been concentrating on the watch more than anyone else. So far, Apple Watch outshines its completion by a long distance. The popular Apple analyst, Neil Cybart refers Above Avalon’s statistics and tweets: More than 100 million people bought Apple watches and every one of three Apple users owns this watch. Another tech research site, HeadphoneAddict posted: Apple shipped 172 million Watch units from 2016 to 2021 in total. So, it’s not surprising that they are in lead and growing more and more.
Apple already released an advanced ultra watch to go a step further. Its current CEO, Tim Cook is exactly following in the footsteps of Steve Jobs to make this happen. It already has the distinct advantages of technology, from hardware to software, and service to backup solutions. Apple is consistently increasing its earnings from all segments. As a part of its plan, in the first quarter of 2022, Apple just dominated the TWS category either. So, what was the result? In 2021 apple registered 366 billion U.S. Dollars in revenue from all categories in total.
The tech researcher, CounterPoint says: Apple Watches were sold 2.5 times more than its closest competitor, GalaxyWatch. On the other hand, they also have been holding their sustainability on continuous innovation, updates, and user-friendly features for their consumers.
Samsung’s Strategy
Samsung is another tech giant that’s considered a strongest contender of Apple. We know the Apple market share has bumped up by the end of 2022, but Samsung is not so far behind. In the first quarter of 2021, apple’s growth was 35.9% percent whereas Samsung has grown 7.8% percent in the global market in spite of the covid situation. The growth of Samsung smartwatches is flat in Europe due to the Russia and Ukraine war, but this performance indicates a clear win for Samsung and its continuous progress. And it’s a really big intimidation to Apple because of this significant growth.
Samsung is absolutely dominating the Indian market and became the market leader. This success came in the first quarter of 2022. International Data Corporation (IDC) states: Samsung now owns 65% percent of the market share in the premium TWS category in India. But, Apple couldn’t grow more than 22.7% percent yet. The key selling points are the new Samsung features that were unified and refined with WearOS from the best of Google. Additionally, its futuristic design and useful features drew the consumer’s attention. The senior director and head of product marketing of Samsung India, Aditya Babbar said; “Galaxy Watch 4 registered double-digit growth QoQ (quarter on quarter)”. So, there’s no doubt to say why Samsung is so intense in smartwatch innovation.
The president and the head of the R&D department Dr. TM Roh promised a better user experience in quality, features, and durability. “We’re dedicated to giving our Galaxy Watch community the tools, data, and resources needed to not only understand their overall health and wellness better but to coach them on their journey,” As a result, we see the new Pro series on the market. The series is performing better and gradually grabbing a large market share around the world.
Google’s New Track
Nevertheless, you can’t forget the native WearOS builder. It is Google, we are talking about.
The pioneer of data organizers and software provider, Google, bought Fitbit to compete with Apple, Samsung, and other companies. Statistic says; more than 56% percent of people wear smartwatches in the USA. Fitbit was the market leader until apple took over the market in 2017. Apple gained 38% percent of the market share whereas Fitbit had 24% percent in America and Canada in this segment.
It seems that Google wants to get on track and move Fitbit to the page of history though it lost half of its market share this year. Google calculated right. There is a huge potential field in this category. As a result, Google is now on the market with its first attempt, the pixel watch.
Fitbit’s 12 years of experience would definitely boost Google’s new innovation and market campaign. Fitbit has been improving its hardware and design for years. So, Google has to focus on services and innovation now, rather than increasing the brand campaign. Moreover, the company would want to improve its market for sustaining its reputation and business for further strategies in the future.
Our Takeaway
From monitoring your steps to aiming to promote general good health smartwatches have come a long way. The growing statistics of smartwatches led tech companies into this business for making solid revenues. So, what’s your thought on the future of smartwatches? Why Apple Google and Samsung is focusing on making smartwatches?
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