Led by Apple, Smartwatches Contributing to ‘Marked Decline’ in Swiss Watch Industry

Smartwatch shipments overtake Swiss shipments.

Seeking Alpha writes that smartwatches contributed to a “marked decline” in the Swiss watch industry in Q4, citing a report saying that smartwatch shipments overtook Swiss watch shipments for the period. The article adds that the Apple Watch led all smartwatches in shipments for the first quarter of this year, also outpacing the iPhone.

Author Mark Hibben writes: “The situation with smartwatches is very analogous to the situation in mobile communications when iPhone was introduced. The vast majority of watches sold in 2015 were electronic, about 1 billion, not the costly mechanical timepieces that the Swiss are noted for. … I consider it inevitable that smartwatches will dominate the electronic watch market. The same technology innovations in processors, displays, batteries and wireless that enabled smartphones also are enablers for the smartwatch.”

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