It has been almost 10 years since Apple unveiled its first smartwatch to the world.
The original Apple Watch was described by the tech giant as its ‘most personal device yet,’ and quickly became one of its best selling products.
But new figures suggest that many users have fallen out of love with their devices.
Global sales of Apple Watches fell by a whopping 19 per cent in 2024, according to market research firm, Counterpoint.
‘Apple Watch witnessed a decline in momentum on its 10th anniversary, despite the launch of the S10 series,’ explained Anshika Jain, Senior Research Analyst at Counterpoint.
While there are likely several reasons for this decline, it seems that many users are sick of the constant notifications on their wrist.
Taking to X, one user said: ‘After 9 years of wearing an Apple Watch every day, I realized that I didn’t like having notifications on my wrist. It’s been 8 months wearing this and I will never go back.’
Meanwhile, on Reddit, one user wrote: ‘I had an Apple Watch. I stopped using it because it became just a glorified notification screen.’
It has been almost 10 years since Apple unveiled its first smartwatch to the world. But new figures suggest that many users have fallen out of love with their devices
Counterpoint’s new report reveals that the global smartwatch market fell seven per cent in 2024 – the first ever decline in the overall market
Taking to X, one user said: ‘After 9 years of wearing an Apple Watch every day, I realized that I didn’t like having notifications on my wrist. It’s been 8 months wearing this and I will never go back’
Counterpoint’s new report reveals that the global smartwatch market fell seven per cent in 2024 – the first ever decline in the overall market.
Several brands saw an increase in sales, including Imoo (22 per cent), Xiaomi (135 per cent), Samsung (three per cent), and Huawei (35 per cent).
In contrast, Apple saw a whopping 19 per cent decrease, while brands classed as ‘others’ saw a 22 per cent decrease in sales.
According to Ms Jain, Apple’s decline was due to tighter competition and weaker upgrade cycles.
‘The biggest driver of the decline was North America, where the absence of the Ultra 3 and minimal feature upgrades in the S10 lineup led consumers to hold back purchases,’ she said.
‘Additionally, patent disputes limited shipments in the first half of the year.
‘The slowdown of the existing Apple Watch SE lineup and the lack of new SE models also contributed to the decline.’
Over the last few months, many Apple Watch users have taken to social media to vent their frustrations with their devices.
Another added: ‘Recently got an apple watch and now I kinda feel like the tamagotchi with the rings and the goals and the standing – it’s a lot compared to my old watch…’
Over on Reddit, there’s an entire thread dedicated to disgruntled users who got rid of their Apple Watches
‘When I first got the apple watch, I stopped and went back to my “real” watch after just a few days. The constant notifications and buzzing are so annoying. Now I just use it when I go to the gym,’ one user tweeted.
Another added: ‘Recently got an apple watch and now I kinda feel like the tamagotchi with the rings and the goals and the standing – it’s a lot compared to my old watch…’
And one joked: ‘The Apple Watch is good for fitness but I’ve had enough of the constant notifications. Suggestions? You’re going to say turn them off aren’t you.’
Meanwhile, over on Reddit, there’s an entire thread dedicated to disgruntled users who got rid of their Apple Watches.
‘I’ve owned a smartwatch before, but at the end of the day, I’m a watch guy and I really appreciate having something beautifully made that will last the rest of my life on my wrist,’ one user wrote.
‘I also find notifications intrusive enough on my phone and don’t need another medium by which I can be contacted. I also like not having additional data points collected on me at (nearly) all times.’
Another said: ‘Im a big runner and primarily use the activity trackings etc. Apart from that i find it to be a glorified beeper.’
And one added: ‘Recently decided to stop wearing mine. It’s insidious. I was roped in with feelings of “I’ll be able to track my health” I’ll have “silent morning vibration alarms”, “I’ll check my phone less” etc etc.
‘The reality is until I took it off and switched back to my simple classic Tissot, I didn’t realize how trapped in that Apple Watch had me feeling.’
If you have an Apple Watch and are sick of the constant notifications, thankfully it’s very easy to switch these off.
Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, tap My Watch, then Notifications.
Tap the app you’d like to turn notifications off for, tap Custom, then choose Notifications Off.
‘Some apps let you choose the specific kind of notifications you receive,’ Apple notes on its website.
‘For example, for Calendar, you can allow notifications only for certain calendars or for specific actions, like when you get an invitation or someone changes a shared calendar.
‘For Mail, you can choose which email accounts are allowed to send notifications.’
MailOnline has contacted Apple for comment.
THE TRILLION DOLLAR RISE OF APPLE
1976: Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne created the company on April 1 1976 as they set about selling computer kits to hobbyists, each of which was built by Wozniak.
The first product was the Apple I.
1977: Apple released the Apple II in June, which was the first PC made for the mass market.
Steve Jobs unveils Apple Computer Corporation’s new Macintosh February 6, 1984 in California.
1981: Jobs became chairman.
1984: The Macintosh was introduced during an ad break for the Super Bowl and later officially unveiled during a launch event. It was discontinued a year later and Jobs left the firm.
1987: Apple released the Macintosh II, the first colour Mac.
1997: Apple announces it will acquire NeXT software in a $400 million deal that involves Jobs returning to Apple as interim CEO. He officially took the role in 2000.
The then Chief Executive Officer of Apple, Steve Jobs, with the iPhone
2001: Apple introduced iTunes, OS X and the first-generation iPod.
The first iPod MP3 music player was released on October 23, 2001, at an event in Cupertino and was able to hold up to 1,000 songs.
2007: Apple unveils the iPhone.
2010: The first iPad was unveiled.
2011: Jobs resigned in 2011 due to illness, handing the CEO title to Tim Cook. Jobs died in October from pancreatic cancer.
2014: Apple unveiled the Apple Watch. It also unveiled its first larger iPhones – the 6 and 6 Plus.
2015: After purchasing Beats from Dr Dre, Apple launched Apple Music to compete with Spotify and other music streaming services.
2016: Apple returned to its roots and announced the 4-inch iPhone SE. Meanwhile, the firm is embroiled in a legal battle with the FBI, involving the agency demanding access to the locked phone used by Syed Farook, who died in a shootout after carrying out a deadly December attack in San Bernardino, California with his wife. The court order was dropped on March 28 after the FBI said a third party was able to unlock the device.
2017: Apple introduces the iPhone X, which removes the home button to make way for a futuristic edge-to-edge screen design and a new FaceID system that uses advanced sensors and lasers to unlock phones with just the owner’s face.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs speaks at an Apple event at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.
2018: In a first for the company, Apple introduces new features in its latest operating system, iOS 12, that encourage users to manage and spend less time on their devices. The move was spawned by a strongly worded letter from shareholders that urged the firm to address the growing problem of smartphone addiction among kids and teenagers.
2019: In January, Apple reports its first decline in revenues and profits in a decade. CEO Tim Cook partly blamed steep declines in revenue from China.
2020: In March, Apple closes all its bricks and mortar retail stores outside of China in response to coronavirus.
2021: In an online virtual event in April CEO Tim Cook declared Apple’s goal of becoming carbon neutral for Earth Day. Later in the year the iPhone 13 was announced.
2022: In September the iPhone 14 was announced. One of the new features included a new sensor to detect if a user had been in a car crash as well as an improved camera system.
2023: Apple brought back its ‘Home Pod’ after the first generation was discontinued. The ‘Home Pod’ can be seen as an alternative to Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home as it is powered by voice commands.
2024: Apple makes its first steps into artificial intelligence with the release of Apple Intelligence. The features are not all released at once with many delayed until the following year.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .