The collapse in sales of watches connected to – The Figaro

VIDEO – The market has been divided by two in a year. Apple remains number one, but did not escape the crisis.

There are several ways to put some perspective on the figures provided on Monday by the research firm IDC. The raw data are no less a concern for the sellers of watches connected to it. During the third quarter of the year, the deliveries were divided in half (-51,6%). The market fell to 2.7 million coins, up from 5.6 million a year earlier. Apple remains largely number one, ahead of Garmin, which makes a breakthrough noticed, and Samsung.

The comparison with the summer of 2015 is tough. Apple was the last year in the wake of the release of his first shows connected, in April. A year later, its sales were down nearly 72%, according to IDC, with just over 1.1 million Apple Watch delivered. The new models presented last month, and marketed in mid-September, have not helped reverse the trend in just two weeks.

The watch market connected shows any real signs of excitement. Sales of smartphones (post-iPhone, in 2007) or tablets (post iPad, in 2010) had not experienced this type of stall after only a year. The growth seemed to be each time far more sustainable. In the Face of Apple, the manufacturers rushed to get out new products and pack the market. This time, the ads are in scattered order. At the IFA, the grand salon e for the season, or Motorola, or LG, or Huawei have presented shows. Only Samsung, and to a lesser extent Asus, Withings and Fossil have announced new models. The Gear S3 will be available from mid-November.

The Apple Watch Nike+. photo Credits : Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

“The sellers are left having to rely on old models and aging to satisfy their customers,” says Ramon Llamas, analyst at IDC. They can’t fall back on software updates. At the end of the month, Google has recognized that the next version of Android Wear, its system for watches connected, would be postponed to 2017, that is to say, after the year-end holiday season. It will run applications independently of those stored on the phone, will review many of the elements of the user interface and improve its functions of monitoring exercises sports.

The attraction for the sport – quite easy to understand for clients – explains precisely the success of Garmin, which has positioned its watch as a accessory for runners, with analyses of the strides and personalized recommendations. It is also the path that follows more clearly than Apple. The Apple Watch Series 2 incorporate a GPS chip to measure the run course and have a better resistance to water. Thus, they can be used by swimmers. A special version, “Nike+”, will go on sale from this Friday. Also, IDC expects a growth of sales of Apple Watch on the last three months of the year, after a quarter black.