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When Apple revealed its Q4, 2017 numbers, it mentioned that the Apple Watch had its best quarter ever with the Apple Watch Series 3 selling twice of what the Apple Watch Series 2 did in the same period. Now, as per analytics firm Canalys, Apple shipped 18 million Apple Watch units in 2017, with over 8 million of them being shipped in Q4 2017 alone — an increase of 32 percent YoY.
Impressively, the Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE connectivity was in high demand in the US, Japan, and Australia. It is the fastest selling LTE wearable in the market, with shipments crossing 1.6 million units for the quarter.
Remember that this is despite the limited availability of the LTE Apple Watch so this is no small feat. Apple recently expanded the Apple Watch Series 3 LTE availability to Singapore and Hong Kong which should help give its shipments a further boost.
“The cellular version of the Apple Watch was in strong demand in the US, Japan and Australia, where all major operators stocked it in time for the holiday season,” said Vincent Thielke, Research Analyst at Canalys. The Apple Watch Series 3 is the fastest-selling LTE wearable on the market, with shipments doubling quarter on quarter to reach 1.6 million. “But limited operator selection in the UK, Germany and France influenced consumer purchase decisions, and stifled the growth potential of the connected Apple Watch. Moving into new markets, such as Singapore and Hong Kong in Q1 2018, just in time for Chinese New Year, is a good move,” added Thielke.
Impressively, Apple Watch surpassed the sales of major Swiss watch companies like Rolex, Omega, and Swatch combined in Q4 2017.
This might not a be a fair comparison since Rolex and Omega watches run into tens of thousands of dollars but this is still an impressive feat from Apple. This does not mean that the Swiss watch industry will go extinct but it does mean that they will have to change their strategy to ensure their products keep up with the time.
Apple has met with huge success with the Apple Watch Series thanks to its constant innovation. Despite a decline in sales a year after its release, Apple kept improving the platform through better hardware and software with every iteration. Thanks to this, the Apple Watch now dominates the wearable market while every other company is either pulling out from it or has shut shop.
(IPHONNEHACKS)
