So How Is The Apple Watch Doing So Far?

The Apple Watch is about to celebrate its first birthday. After debuting in 2015, the first and only wearable device so far from Apple has quickly captured the throne in the global smartwatch market. However, despite some strong, solid efforts from various big names in the tech industry (including Tag Heuer) to introduce new smartwatch offerings, demand for smartwatch devices remain well below mainstream acceptance levels. The shipment for smartwatches have steadily increased over the last two years for sure, but for many mobile users out there, they still do not see these devices as must have items.

And as popular as the Apple Watch has become over the past few months, the wearable device is still subject to the law of diminishing returns. A few industry watchers certainly do echo this sentiment, and chief among them is Ming-Chi Kuo, the famed analyst from KGI Securities who seem to always have a knack for predicting stuff about Apple. According to Kuo, shipments of the Apple Watch will decrease 25 percent this year to 7.5 million units, down from an estimated 10.6 million units in 2015. The reasons for the decrease -- the lack of really clever mobile apps for the Apple Watch, limited battery power, reliance on iPhone devices, and the immaturity of the global smartwatch market. 

Still, it is worth noting what owners of the Apple Watch actually think of the device. As determined by advertising technology company Fluent via a poll, about 80 percent of Apple Watch owners claim they use the device for fitness tracking and for receiving notifications. Among 77 percent, the most popular Apple Watch activity is listening to audio tracks. Around 66 percent claim they use the Apple Watch for sending and receiving emails and instant messages, while 61 percent say they use the Apple Watch to pay for items bought by way of the Apple Pay, the mobile payment system developed by Apple.

Interestingly, only 11 percent of Apple Watch owners purchased the device for fashion related purposes, despite some efforts from Apple (and certain retail establishments) to position the smartwatch as a fashion item. 46 percent of those who participated in the survey listed convenience as the main reason for buying the device, while 31 percent claim they bought the Apple Watch for its features and functionalities. In conducting its poll, Fluent surveyed over 2,500 adults, 197 of which (or 8 percent) claimed they owned an Apple Watch device.