The fitness mantra appears to be infectious. India's smartwatch market posted its highest ever shipments in the third quarter of 2021 with indigenous brands cutting a swathe through the market share. Which is probably why Apple wants a share in the fast-growing wearables segment.
Towards this end, Apple seems to be promoting fitness as a year-long program and not as a bunch of resolutions to be made in the New Year, only to lose steam as the weeks and months roll by. The Cupertino-based company, which briefly became the world's first $3 trillion dollar entity on Monday, is using a few tricks to capture user engagement, starting right from its official website.
When we accessed the Apple website in India this morning, we found that the home page was taken over by the company's new fitness mantra. Users get to see a short video around Apple Fitness+ trainers even if one has landed on it to check out some of its more popular products such as the iPhones and iPads.
Once the video plays out in about five to six seconds, there is a brief message that reminds us of the "11 workout types, everything from HIIT to Yoga. New workouts and meditations every week. All powered by Apple Watch."
Immediately thereafter, we are introduced to the three months free trial that Apple offers when we buy a new Smartwatch. It further urges Fitness+ users to check out the 25 new workout modes available within their fitness app for a limited period. The new workouts can be found under specific sections on the Fitness app.
Some of these include “Best of 2021,” “New Workouts” and “New Meditations.” The first of these have a curated list of 45 workouts recording during the last 12 months that straddle activities including cycling, strength building and meditation. There is also a "Celebrate" section that provides 15 options to reflect the holiday spirit.
Just in case, you love working out in groups, Apple Fitness+ began group workouts and guided meditation following the iOS 15.1 release in November. Subscribers can use SharePlay to start a group workout or meditation with up to 32 participants via FaceTime on the iPhone or iPad.
The Fitness+ expanded to 15 new regions, including India, on its first anniversary recently.
Smartwatches vs Wristband and the winner is...
Though the smartwatch segment has witnessed a host of indigenous players, Apple has held on to its pole position over the past few quarters. It's India sales surged on during 2020 on the back of robust demand for the Apple Watch Series 3 and Series 6, according to IDC research.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, Apple had a 51% market share in India across the smartwatch segment. Amongst other brands, Noise led the watch category in India with 24.5% market share, Realme took the second spot at 15.7%. However, within a year, domestic brands controlled more than three-quarters of the market.
In the third quarter of 2021, two Indian brands Noise and Boat between them got a lion's share of the market, controlling close to 50% of it. There is a perceptible shift from wristbands to smartwatches in India with IDC noting that sales of the former dipped by 34% in 2020 while watches grew by a massive 139%. Of this, Apple currently holds just 12.5% of the market share.
Small wonder then that Fitness has become the new mantra for Apple in India.
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