How The Apple Watch Took Over The World

The Apple Watch Has Brushed Aside Its Rivals And Now Dominates The Smartwatch World. We Take A Look At How It Ascended To The Throne Of Wearable Royalty.

- Alex Blake

Apple fans are used to divided, even hostile receptions from the tech press whenever a new Apple product comes along. But even so, the reaction to the Apple Watch in its early days took us by surprise. It was declared a disaster from the moment it went on sale, with the public repeatedly being told by news outlets that no one wanted to buy an Apple Watch. It was too expensive, not innovative enough, lacking a purpose; if you can imagine an accusation, it was probably levelled at the Watch at some point. It was also the first new Apple product category developed under Tim Cook’s leadership, conveniently allowing the people to continue the belated hagiography of Steve Jobs and peddle the idea that Cook was an unworthy successor.

Yet through all this, Apple remained steadfast in its claims that the Watch was doing more than fine. In fact, in September 2017 Tim Cook revealed it was the best-selling watch in the world – not just the best-selling smartwatch, but the best-selling watch full stop, smart or otherwise. Since then it’s powered on, taking the lion’s share of the smartwatch industry and taking an almost unassailable lead over its rivals.

So how did Apple overcome such a hostile press corps to outsell traditional watchmaking giants like Rolex and Swatch, as well as smartwatch competitors such as Fitbit and Samsung? We decided to investigate.

Fitness first

We last took a detailed look at the Apple Watch in our Autumn 2017 issue (MF #318). Back then, the Watch was in the ascendancy; 2016’s Series 2 had added GPS functionality and pivoted the device more towards the fitness world than the fashion sphere. The Series 3 had only just launched, but it was clear even then that it would be another important step in the right direction for Apple’s wearable.