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The elephant in the article is that he mentions Garmin, as a major player, then nearly completely ignores it. The industry isn't an Apple Watch industry, it's A

by entee 10y ago

The elephant in the article is that he mentions Garmin, as a major player, then nearly completely ignores it. The industry isn't an Apple Watch industry, it's Apple/Samsung accessory on one side, and true fitness watch on the other. As a Garmin user (Fenix 3 HR), I find it indispensable on my rides, swims, runs, etc. Nothing works better with the same battery life and integration. The notifications are kinda nice, but honestly the fitness part of it matters far more. Apple clearly has been moving in the fitness watch direction, but it's unlikely they'll get the same performance because they're unwilling to sacrifice svelte design (dedicated altimeter, GPS, temperature, extra radios plus long-life battery take more space). Even in the current watch they have about 1/3 the battery life using GPS. Of course that's fine for a lot of people, but there's a healthy number who want more. I think the final layout will be Apple/Samsung with a large majority of the market, and sports specialists (Garmin) having the rest, but that segment being quite strong and healthy over the long term. Where that leaves Fitbit, I don't know. They don't have a model that meets the needs of someone who wants a Garmin (though Garmin is expanding down into their space), and they'll never have the integration the "cool-accessory" market wants.

wf 10y ago
Disclaimer: I work for Garmin, but not on smart watches. This is exactly what I came here to say. On top of that I'm not sure how the data from the second chart got put together? It just says that the data came from their own site and IDC. IDC's report for the 3rd quarter puts three competitors above Apple in terms of market share, YOY growth, and unit sales.[1] [1] http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS41996116 http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS41996116
- diego_moita 10y ago
  Your link changes the whole discussion and makes the original post irrelevant. If the data is correct: 1) Garmin is selling almost 20% more than Apple 2) Fitness is the killer app for wrist-wearables. The 3 front runners are fitness focused.
- chetanahuja 10y ago
  "Xiaomi's new Mi Band includes heart rate tracking and is priced well below any competition, making it more suitable for impulse buying than any other fitness band. Despite its worldwide growth in 3Q16, the company managed to lose market share as almost every other vendor outpaced its growth. Xiaomi, across all business lines, continues to struggle to gain any significant traction outside its home country of China." Problem with Xiaomi have been more supply side than demand side. I know because I tried to buy MiBand 2 when it originally came out and for weeks most vendors were sold out. It's possible that Xiaomi is having trouble keeping up the manufacturing volumes at the low price point they've entered the market.
MBCook 10y ago
I won't disagree for hardcore fitness people. But for 'normal' fitness people the Apple watch is a pretty strong value. It's much better than a basic FitBit but works better. It integrates with your phone very well and the notification handling quickly became my favorite feature. I think the Apple watch is far more than good enough for most people's fitness needs, and I don't think Garmin's strength there will be enough to elevate them out of the niche of hard-core fitness people.
- entee 10y ago
  Agreed. I do jealously look at my Apple watch friends for things like locking/unlocking the laptop by proximity, no chance Garmin or FitBit gets that kind of functionality. And re. fitness, if you don't go out and use GPS for more than an hour or two, then yeah Apple Watch is the perfect fit. That said, coming at it from the other side, I think the Garmin smart watch features are good enough for many, many people. Thing is, these are bloody expensive devices. I'd never buy both, but then again, maybe if you can afford one, you can afford two?
  - MBCook 10y ago
    The Garmin features are fine, but they'll never be as tightly integrated as an Apple Watch or Android Wear device (assuming it isn't running Android Wear), and you have all the other things to think about (the large band market for Apple, general preferences in looks, etc). Makes me think it will be hard for Garmin to break into the mainstream.
  - brlewis 10y ago
    I work for Fitbit. I don't generally talk about what I do and don't know about future features, but I'll make a one-time exception and tell you I'm completely ignorant as to whether there's any plan for laptop lock/unlock. Despite my complete ignorance, I'll still challenge your statement "no chance Garmin or Fitbit gets that kind of functionality." If Fitbit Blaze can do bluetooth music control it doesn't take much imagination to think lock/unlock.
    - 10y ago
ak217 10y ago
I agree with that. Garmin has been improving their execution lately - they are aggressively targeting their competitors on both features and price, while retaining their core feature strengths. I think they have a great future, especially if they continue to beef up their engineering teams (and don't disruptively ask them to move!), and maybe continue with new features/markets like satellite data. My Garmin watch is a lot more compelling than an Apple watch - long battery life, does not require a smartphone, always on sunlight-readable display, well thought-out workout tracking features.
paulddraper 10y ago
I do ultramarathons, and my Garmin GPS watch is a necessity.
- outericky 10y ago
  I bought an Apple Watch 2 with hopes of it being a good enough running watch at least for casual runs (an upgrade to my 310xt). Instead I returned it and got a Fenix 3. Bring on the ultras.

by entee 10y ago

wf 10y ago

Disclaimer: I work for Garmin, but not on smart watches. This is exactly what I came here to say. On top of that I'm not sure how the data from the second chart got put together? It just says that the data came from their own site and IDC. IDC's report for the 3rd quarter puts three competitors above Apple in terms of market share, YOY growth, and unit sales.[1] [1] http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS41996116 http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS41996116

diego_moita 10y ago
Your link changes the whole discussion and makes the original post irrelevant. If the data is correct: 1) Garmin is selling almost 20% more than Apple 2) Fitness is the killer app for wrist-wearables. The 3 front runners are fitness focused.
chetanahuja 10y ago
"Xiaomi's new Mi Band includes heart rate tracking and is priced well below any competition, making it more suitable for impulse buying than any other fitness band. Despite its worldwide growth in 3Q16, the company managed to lose market share as almost every other vendor outpaced its growth. Xiaomi, across all business lines, continues to struggle to gain any significant traction outside its home country of China." Problem with Xiaomi have been more supply side than demand side. I know because I tried to buy MiBand 2 when it originally came out and for weeks most vendors were sold out. It's possible that Xiaomi is having trouble keeping up the manufacturing volumes at the low price point they've entered the market.

MBCook 10y ago

I won't disagree for hardcore fitness people. But for 'normal' fitness people the Apple watch is a pretty strong value. It's much better than a basic FitBit but works better. It integrates with your phone very well and the notification handling quickly became my favorite feature. I think the Apple watch is far more than good enough for most people's fitness needs, and I don't think Garmin's strength there will be enough to elevate them out of the niche of hard-core fitness people.

entee 10y ago
Agreed. I do jealously look at my Apple watch friends for things like locking/unlocking the laptop by proximity, no chance Garmin or FitBit gets that kind of functionality. And re. fitness, if you don't go out and use GPS for more than an hour or two, then yeah Apple Watch is the perfect fit. That said, coming at it from the other side, I think the Garmin smart watch features are good enough for many, many people. Thing is, these are bloody expensive devices. I'd never buy both, but then again, maybe if you can afford one, you can afford two?
- MBCook 10y ago
  The Garmin features are fine, but they'll never be as tightly integrated as an Apple Watch or Android Wear device (assuming it isn't running Android Wear), and you have all the other things to think about (the large band market for Apple, general preferences in looks, etc). Makes me think it will be hard for Garmin to break into the mainstream.
- brlewis 10y ago
  I work for Fitbit. I don't generally talk about what I do and don't know about future features, but I'll make a one-time exception and tell you I'm completely ignorant as to whether there's any plan for laptop lock/unlock. Despite my complete ignorance, I'll still challenge your statement "no chance Garmin or Fitbit gets that kind of functionality." If Fitbit Blaze can do bluetooth music control it doesn't take much imagination to think lock/unlock.
  - 10y ago

ak217 10y ago

I agree with that. Garmin has been improving their execution lately - they are aggressively targeting their competitors on both features and price, while retaining their core feature strengths. I think they have a great future, especially if they continue to beef up their engineering teams (and don't disruptively ask them to move!), and maybe continue with new features/markets like satellite data. My Garmin watch is a lot more compelling than an Apple watch - long battery life, does not require a smartphone, always on sunlight-readable display, well thought-out workout tracking features.

paulddraper 10y ago

I do ultramarathons, and my Garmin GPS watch is a necessity.

outericky 10y ago
I bought an Apple Watch 2 with hopes of it being a good enough running watch at least for casual runs (an upgrade to my 310xt). Instead I returned it and got a Fenix 3. Bring on the ultras.