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Turnover rises to $14.7 billion for Apple’s accessories division but Watch sales may be falling

According to tech analyst IDC, Apple Watch sales fell by 35% year on year for the first nine months of 2021, although it sold almost 40 million units worldwide in just the third quarter of the year.

Apple’s Wearables, Home, and Accessories division includes the Apple Watch, Apple TV, HomePod mini, iPod touch, AirPods and Beats headphones, and the company does not break down sales between the various products in its financial reporting.

It is therefore only possible to speculate how much Apple Watch sales contributed to quarterly sales of $14.7 billion in the three months ending December 25, 2021.

Apple has been selling more watches than the entire Swiss industry combined since 2019 and, while the Swiss have just had a record year, measured by the value of global exports, the number of units has halved in a decade.

Not that the Swiss are that bothered. In an interview with Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe this week, he told WATCHPRO that Apple Watch has been a forced for good.

“The Apple Watch was initially seen as a threat to our industry, and has been a challenge to the entry price segment, but we have found that people putting something on their wrist leads to them looking for something different down the line. A mechanical watch is a good answer,” he says.

While embracing the positive impact of Apple on mechanical watch sales, the Swiss may also have a wry smile to themselves at news that Apple Watch sales actually fell for most of last year.

According to tech analyst IDC, Apple Watch sales fell by 35% year on year for the first nine months of 2021, although it sold almost 40 million units worldwide in just the third quarter of the year.

Apple introduced its Series 7 Watch during the holiday season, but was already discounting it after Christmas.

On December 29, The Verge reported that Apple’s latest watch, which a larger display and other improvements over predecessors, was being discounted to $379 rather than the recommended $429 on Amazon for the 45mm GPS-enabled model.

The smaller 41mm model was down from $399 to $349.

Apple is rumoured to be launching a new format for its smartwatch this year.

Macrumors reports that a rugged “Explorer” version is expected.

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