With over 30 million units sold globally since its debut, the Apple Watch is undeniably the most successful and sought-after smartwatches in the world today. Some estimates even suggest Apple sells more watches than the whole Swiss watch industry combined. Rabeya Lima reports.
According to the latest Counterpoint Research report, the global smart watch shipments in Q4 2020 Apple maintained the number one position and increased its market share by 6 percent.
The research report reveals that the smart watch market witnessed a 1.5 percent increase in total shipments compared to the same period in 2019. Apple alone accounts for 40 percent of the overall shipments.
As per the report, “the Apple Watch Series 6 and SE did well, shipping 12.9 million units and accounting for 40 percent market share in Q4 2020. Apple crossed the 100 million mark for its Apple Watch shipments last month.
Apple Watch, features and capabilities:
- The Apple Watch, like other fitness watches, tracks the activities of the user, like walking, running, cycling and exercising, to show the user their daily activity, which can also be shared with family members and friends.
- Apple Watch Series 6 also finally saw the inclusion of sleep tracking.
- ECG and heart rate monitoring are also among the features that Apple offers, along with blood oxygen monitoring, a feature that most would look out for amid the pandemic.
- Another useful feature during the pandemic is the tracking of hand washing. The Apple Watch detects when the user is washing their hands, and automatically begins a 20-second timer to encourage them to wash hands as per the time prescribed by the WHO.
- The Watch also detects when the user might need emergency assistance, like if they fall hard and are immobile, and connects them with the emergency services.
- Moreover, just like the iPhone, the Apple Watch also has the feature of pressing a button and activating emergency calling. It can also automatically switch to the do not disturb mode.
- Some Series 5 and Apple Watch SE units initially had some technical issues wherein the watch was not being charged when in battery saver mode. Apple recently announced a watchOS update – version 7.3.1 – to tackle this issue.
Now the company is hoping to introduce something more ambitious for the Apple Watch 7, a blood glucose sensor, capable of telling diabetics when their blood sugar levels are dropping to dangerous levels.
