I watched this yr’s September Apple Event, and was so excited that the Apple Watch announcement was up first. But in the long run, it was a little bit of an anticlimax. The firm introduced the Apple Watch Series 10, which is well among the finest smartwatches, but in addition a disappointment.
Yes, it is good that there is a larger display, improved efficiency and a brand new chip, but it surely felt like a modest replace to the Series 9, and if I’m sincere, a bit samey. Some of the attention-grabbing new options, like respiration disturbances, are software-based, and have additionally come to older gadgets now with watchOS 11.
And I’m apparently not the one one who thinks Apple’s wearables are beginning to lose a little bit of magic. According to a brand new report from the International Data Corporation (IDC), Apple shipped 3.3 million fewer watches than in the identical interval a yr earlier than.
There are, after all, some caveats right here: the information covers Q1-Q3, which is often January to September, and the comparisons are between 2024 and 2023. So that is largely earlier than the Series 10 was introduced, and several other months after the Series 9 launch.
But maybe I’m overthinking it. Maybe, Apple’s slip from the highest of the wearables market is definitely nothing to do with the excitement across the Apple Watch. IDC’s knowledge exhibits that many of the change was as a result of explosive development seen in China, with Huawei main the way in which.
Following the 2019 ban, you’ll be able to’t purchase Huawei gadgets within the U.S., so the corporate has more and more centered on markets nearer to residence, like China, with a big 44.3% year-on-year (YoY) development, transport 23.6 million items between Q1 and Q3 this yr. For comparability, Apple shipped 22.5 million in the identical interval.
But I do not suppose it is simply right down to the assorted restrictions and regional markets which have performed a job right here. Huawei has additionally been releasing trackers and smartwatch fashions at a variety of costs for all budgets (the Apple’s ‘cheaper’ Watch SE is over $200), and with some genuinely attention-grabbing and helpful options.
The firm launched the Huawei D2 smartwatch earlier within the yr. It does all the standard smartwatch-y issues, but in addition has a blood strain monitor in-built. I’ve a medical situation which means I want to trace my blood strain, and a function like this might be invaluable.
Our mates at TechRadar even reviewed the Huawei D2, score it 4.5 out of 5. I’ve little doubt that should you may purchase this system within the U.S., it would be an enormous hit as a result of it bundles a lot into such a small bundle. And it lasts six days between costs, in comparison with the Apple Watch Series 10’s 18 hours.
So whereas Apple remains to be by far one of the vital in style smartwatch manufacturers on the planet, it’s beginning to get outpaced by corporations that may supply extra modern designs and a greater vary of costs. Something for Tim Cook and co. to bear in mind as they gear up for the Apple Watch Series 11.
