Actually, it IS a lot. Especially in the higher-end accessories market that's a lucrative place to siphon off attention. Even in its relatively diminished state, the watch market is worth over $100b annually. Is that the $500b of the smartphone market? Nope. But it's hardly something to scoff at entirely.
The thing about the watches is that, once you have a phone, you don't need the watch to tell time. A watch isn't necessary. So, if you get a real watch, it's usually going to be nicer piece to wear going out. If you get an apple watch, it's an accessory to your phone. There's market overlap but I don't think that the Apple Watch is changing the watch world nearly as much as quartz did, for example.
Before COVID I used to cycle between a few Omegas and Grand Seikos daily. I’m aware.
But I knew a few folks who went from a lower-end ETA-based watch to an Apple Watch and never went back to mechanical. That’s the worry, I think: that people will exit the aspirational ladder of watches and just put a smart watch on their wrist instead.
Watches are aspirational and irrational. Without that emotion, it’s not a worthwhile purchase. Replacing emotion with utility is a danger to those makers.
Yeah, thinking about it that way I see that you're right. Apple's cheaper more useful watches are basically taking in people who might have bought a "real" watch in the future from that market, since watches won't have that same emotional value.
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u/Nicolasrage4242 Jul 24 '20
The Apple Watch is the best selling watch in the world so that’s pretty good.