Apple Watch Leads in Rapidly Growing Smartwatch Market, Report Says

Apple Watch is the "clear market leader" in the burgeoning U.S. smartwatch market, according to a new report from consumer research firm The NPD Group.

applewatchseries4aluminummodels
Market data shows U.S. smartwatch sales showed strong growth in the 12 months ending November 2018 when compared to the same timeframe a year ago. Apple, Samsung, and Fitbit made up 88 percent of smartwatch unit sales in that time.

The report found dollar sales of the devices were up 51 percent, amounting to nearly $5 billion in sales, while unit sales experienced a 61 percent increase, indicating an impressive acceleration in demand for the wearables.

"Over the last 18 months smartwatch sales gained strong momentum, proving the naysayers, who didn't think the category could achieve mainstream acceptance, had potentially judged too soon," said Weston Henderek, director, industry analyst for NPD Connected Intelligence. "The ability to be truly connected via built-in LTE without the need to have a smartphone nearby proved to be a tipping point for consumers, as they now recognize the value in being able to complete a wide range of tasks on the device including receiving notifications, messaging, accessing smart home controls, and more."

According to the report, 16 percent of U.S. adults now own a smartwatch, which is up from 12 percent in December of 2017. Interest from the younger 18-34 age demographic is said to be responsible for the overall growth in the smartwatch market, but NPD analysts expect Apple Watch will continue to entice older consumers thanks to health features like Fall Detection and ECG and greater control over home automation.

Apple doesn't break out Apple Watch unit sales from its overall earnings. However in its recent earnings call for the first quarter of the 2019 fiscal year, CEO Tim Cook said the company's wearables revenue was being driven by the "amazing popularity" of Apple Watch and AirPods, and that the category alone was "approaching the size of a Fortune 200 company."

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

Popular Stories

M5 MacBook Pro

Apple Announces New 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:07 am PDT by
Apple today updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, which is also available in updated iPad Pro and Vision Pro models. In addition, the base 14-inch MacBook Pro can now be configured with up to 4TB of storage on Apple's online store, whereas the previous model maxed out at 2TB. However, the maximum amount of unified RAM available for this model remains 32GB. Like...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

Apple Debuts New iPad Pro With M5 Chip, Faster Charging, and More

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple today announced the next-generation iPad Pro, featuring the custom-designed M5, C1X, and N1 chips. The M5 chip has up to a 10-core CPU, with four performance cores and six efficiency cores. It features a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerator in each core, allowing the new iPad Pro to deliver up to 3.5x the AI performance than the previous model, and a third-generation ray-tracing ...
maxresdefault

Here's Everything Apple Announced Today

Wednesday October 15, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We didn't get a second fall event this year, but Apple did unveil updated products with a series of press releases that went out today. The M5 chip made an appearance in new MacBook Pro, Vision Pro, and iPad Pro models. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up our coverage and highlighted the main feature changes for each device below. MacBook Pro M5...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
Vision Pro M5 Announcement

Apple Updates Vision Pro With M5 Chip, Dual Knit Band, and 120Hz Support

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:14 am PDT by
Apple today updated the Vision Pro headset with its next-generation M5 chip for faster performance, and a more comfortable Dual Knit Band. The M5 chip has a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, and a 16-core Neural Engine, and we have confirmed the Vision Pro still has 16GB of RAM. With the M5 chip, the Vision Pro offers faster performance and longer battery life compared...
iphone air thickness

Apple Said to Cut iPhone Air Production Amid Underwhelming Sales

Friday October 17, 2025 8:29 am PDT by
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec). The Japanese investment banking and securities firm claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seeing higher sales than their predecessors during the same period last year, while the standard iPhone 17 is a major success, performing...
MacBook Pro M5 Screen

New MacBook Pro Does Not Include a Charger in the Box in Europe

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:59 am PDT by
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip does not include a charger in the box in European countries, including the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and others, according to Apple's online store. In the U.S. and all other countries outside of Europe, the new MacBook Pro comes with Apple's 70W USB-C Power Adapter, but European customers miss out....
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New 14-Inch MacBook Pro Has Two Key Upgrades Beyond the M5 Chip

Thursday October 16, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with an M5 chip, and there are two key storage-related upgrades beyond that chip bump. First, Apple says the new 14-inch MacBook Pro offers up to 2× faster SSD performance than the equivalent previous-generation model, so read and write speeds should get a significant boost. Apple says it is using "the latest storage technology," ...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday October 14, 2025 8:43 am PDT by
Apple's AirPods Max have now been available for almost five years, so what do we know about the second-generation version? According to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new AirPods Max will be lighter than the current ones, but exactly how much is as yet known. The current AirPods Max weigh 0.85 pounds (386.2 grams), excluding the charging case, making it one of the heavier...
macbook pro blue

Apple's M5 MacBook Pro Imminent: What to Expect

Tuesday October 14, 2025 4:35 pm PDT by
Apple is going to launch a new version of the MacBook Pro as soon as tomorrow, so we thought we'd go over what to expect from Apple's upcoming Mac. M5 Chip The MacBook Pro will be one of the first new devices to use the next-generation M5 chip, which will replace the M4 chip. The M5 is built on TSMC's more advanced 3-nanometer process, and it will bring speed and efficiency improvements. ...

Top Rated Comments

GaryMumford Avatar
87 months ago
And I remember people saying the watch would fail
I remember saying "I'd never need one of those, it's pointless"... I'm now onto my second one.:D
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Seanm87 Avatar
87 months ago
And I remember people saying the watch would fail
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LeeW Avatar
87 months ago

Apple is treating the world as second class.....
You have to start somewhere and that was always going to be the US. An ECG is not just some cool feature, it is a regulated measurement in most countries. I suspect the entire process in the US to get it accepted via the FDA took a couple of years at least.

For the UK, Apple would need to apply to the MHRA and I can guarantee they will want new clinical trials, that will all take years as well. There is a slim chance they won't want the trials but I doubt it, the stress on the National Health Service if it causes too many people heading to a hospital as their watch told them to will mean it will go through the full process to ensure it meets the required standards.

And that is only two countries, repeat all that over and over for every other country given the different regulations and it is going to take a long time before ECG is available in many countries.

And if you are in a country that does not sell enough watches, don't hold your breath at all...
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kabeyun Avatar
87 months ago
Great product for US citizen and those handful of countries that support ECG .

FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD ,we will be paying full price for a technology that will never see the light of day .

Apple is treating the world as second class.....

Fragmentation...
So it’s all Apple fault for not implementing this brand new feature in all countries simultaneously? Nothing to do with regulatory hurdles or anything else? Just arbitrary scorn on the rest of the planet?

You’re probably right. I mean, Apple Pay just went live in Germany over four years after the US got it. Nothing to do with financial regulators or deal making with key bank stakeholders. Just Apple’s temporary wanton neglect of the rest of the planet because of a superiority complex.

And imagine! An American company targeting the American market for an initial rollout. The nerve!
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Remy149 Avatar
87 months ago
Great product for US citizen and those handful of countries that support ECG .

FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD ,we will be paying full price for a technology that will never see the light of day .

Apple is treating the world as second class.....

Fragmentation...
Apple can’t offer those features in countries that haven’t given permission to allow them
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
87 months ago
And I remember people saying the watch would fail
You mean the members on this site? Members on here are way overly critical on Apple, because a lot of people on here don’t want to support Apple because of how they changed since Steve Jobs departure and over the years, and they don’t share Apples vision with changes with products like the Apple Watch, why? Because they want to see Apple focus more on things like ‘computers’, but Apple became diverse and they realized that there is a place for a smart watch, but not just for notifications, but leading the way in Health features and help those trying to reach their goals with the assistance of the Apple Watch.

If there is one product for the future of Apple that has a strong foothold, it’s the Apple Watch.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)