Canalys reckons Apple Watch shipments exploded in Q4 2017

Estimates from research firm Canalys put the number of Apple Watches shipped in Q4 2017 at 8 million, which is apparently more than the entire Swiss watch industry.

Apple doesn’t break out its Apple Watch shipments publicly, so these are only estimates, but probably good ones as that’s Canalys’ day job. Furthermore there seems to be some consensus with IDC tweeting similar vibes ahead of publishing its hard estimates. Either way it looks like the latest version of the Watch is gaining some momentum.

“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 of Canalys. “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.”

Business Insider had a look at the claim made in the IDC tweet about the Swiss watch industry and its official source of data, which seems to indicate Q4 2017 exports of Swiss watches in the region of 6-7 million. There are, of course, other sources of conventional watches but Apple does seem to be aiming more towards the luxury end.

What to read into this trend, however, is far from clear. It’s not known to what extent the most recent shipments were influenced by operator bundling, nor how much more seasonal smart watch sales are than conventional ones. Furthermore Swiss brands such as Rolex tend to be very expensive and so should be expected to sell in lower volumes.

The Canalys chart for the full year is below, which implies 100% of the Apple Watches shipped in Q4 were the new series. It’s interesting to note some traction for the modem-enabled ones since it’s unlikely many users will leave the house without their phone anyway, unless they’re going for a run.