Apple Adds India to Its Growth List by Shipping 3.5 Mn Watches

With 3.5 million Apple Watch shipment, India got a surprise addition in the tech giant’s list.

The Apple Watch Series 3 can make calls without the need for pairing it with an iPhone.

(Photo: Apple)

Apple shipped 3.5 million watches globally in the second quarter of 2018 which is 30 percent more than in the same period last year and India was a surprise addition to the tech giant's list, a news report said on Friday, 27 July.

Apple Watch shipments to Asia (excluding China) surpassed 250,000 units, with the LTE version accounting for about 60 percent, said Singapore-based market research firm Canalys.

Since the launch of the Apple Watch Series 3, the tech company has formed partnerships with telecom operators in Australia, Japan and Singapore, with Thailand, India and South Korea added in the last quarter.

India is a surprising addition to the list of countries. But this is a good strategy by Airtel and Reliance Jio to retain their high-value customers in a bid to minimise churn in a cut-throat market.

Jason Low, Senior Analyst

He added, "Operators in these markets are willing to resell connected devices other than smartphones that can help them generate extra revenue from data services."

Global smartwatch shipments reached 10 million units on the back of stellar performances among others, Fitbit and Garmin, as vendors capitalised on the wearable’s trend and diversified their portfolios to target distinct customer segments.

The cellular Apple Watch Series 3 hit the biggest number of smartwatches shipped to Asia in 2018 Q2.

Apple faces a growing threat from competitors, which have started to pass the million quarterly shipments mark.

Vincent Thielke, Research Analyst

Vendors are trying to differentiate their products with advanced heart-rate metrics, smart coaching and mapping and consumers now have a much wider range of smartwatches to choose from than they did a year ago.

Thielke further added, "Amid further competition from Samsung and Google, rumoured to be launching Galaxy and Pixel watches respectively, Apple needs to work out how to drive refreshes in markets such as the US, where its penetration into the existing iPhone installed base has started to level off."