Apple has become world’s largest watchmaker

Cupertino-based Apple has set another record. The company shipped 8 million units of the Apple Watch in the fourth quarter of the year 2017, beating Fitbit’s previous record, according to Canalys research. Now, according to Francisco Jeronimo, research director at IDC, Apple is now also the biggest watch maker in the world. The company shipped more watches than the entire Swiss Watch industry during the fourth quarter of the year 2017.

In a tweet on microblogging website Twitter, Jeronimo wrote, “For the first time, #Apple shipped more Apple Watches in 4Q2017, than the entire Swiss Watch Industry shipped watches! Apple is the biggest watch maker in the world #AppleWatch.”
Talking about Apple Watch at its recent earnings report, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the sales of the Apple Watch Series 3 were twice the Apple Watch Series 2’s sales a year ago, explaining the 36 percent growth in “other products” category. Apple includes its Apple Watch sales in “other products” category.

The company’s chief financial officer (CFO), Luca Maestri said that wearables, including Beats, AirPods, and the Apple Watch sales were up nearly 70 percent year-over-year.
According for breaking the Fitbit’s record, the wearables major was the previous record holder, having shipped 6.1 million units in the fourth quarter of the year 2015.
Apple Watch shipments beat expectations, topping 18 million in the entire 2017, up by more than 54% on 2016. The Series 3 was the key growth driver, as total shipments of the latest version of Apple’s Watch were just under 9 million, making up nearly half of all shipments in 2017. Apple’s Q4 performance was impressive in itself, as shipments grew by more than 32% over Q4 2016 to 8 million, the highest ever number of shipments in a single quarter, not just for Apple, but for any wearable vendor.

“Apple has won the wearables game,” said Jason Low, senior analyst at Canalys. “Despite innovative designs, such as the rotating bezels and circular screens employed by other vendors, Apple has pulled far ahead as it continues to focus on its core iPhone user base. Its recent updates to the Series 3, such as GymKit and Apple Heart Study, are proving to offer compelling use cases, encouraging users to spend more on accessories,” he added.

The Apple Watch Series 3 is now the fastest-selling LTE wearable on the market, with shipments doubling quarter on quarter to reach 1.6 million.