The State of Apple Watch
So, Apple started selling some new stuff last week, right?
In addition to all the new iPhones, Apple announced two new AirPod models, which we can address later, and all-new Apple Watch models. Apple Watch is Apple’s most important product within the Wearables, Home, and Accessories segment and would be a Fortune 500 company as a standalone business. So, we thought we would provide some context for the new models.
There are three Apple Watch tiers. The number models (Series 10 and now 11) are the core; the SE (SE2 and now 3) models are lower-priced and lack the latest features; and the Ultra models (Ultra 2 and now 3) offer premium or (as Apple might say) “Pro” features. Among new iPhone buyers, 31% own an Apple Watch, suggesting Apple has penetrated into about one-third of its base of Apple product owners. Apple Watch dominates the category for their customers, with about a 96% share of all smartwatches among Apple product owners, and Fitbit and Garmin accounting for the rest.
Looking at US unit sales among models, the Series models (in this data Series 10 and 9 before that) dominate. In the most recent four quarters, 59% of customers purchased Series 10 or Series 9 (Chart 1). If we include the Nike-branded models, which are part of the “Series” lineup, we get to almost two-thirds of customers purchasing that tier.