Over 100 million people now wear an Apple Watch, according to analyst Neil Cybart of Above Avalon who on Friday shared a report highlighting the growth of the wearable since its launch in 2015.
Cybart suggests Apple saw Apple Watch adoption grow substantially in 2020, with a reported 30 million watches sold to new customers, which exceeds the number of Apple Watch users in 2015, 2016, and 2017 combined.
Apple reportedly hit the 100 million milestone in December last year, which Cybart puts down to the launch of the Apple Watch Series 6, Apple Fitness+, and Apple’s new, more affordable Apple Watch SE, priced from $279.
The figures suggest Apple Watch is used by 10% of iPhone users globally, and 35% of iPhone users in the U.S.
As of the end of 2020, approximately 10% of iPhone users were wearing an Apple Watch. This is a high percentage given the diverse technological wants and needs of those in the iPhone installed base. Since the U.S. has been an Apple Watch stronghold for years, adoption in the country has trended materially high in comparison to global figures. At the end of 2020, approximately 35% of iPhone users in the U.S. were wearing an Apple Watch.
Moving forward, the analyst expects Apple Watch adoption to continue to grow. Cybart says there is “nothing stopping much higher adoption over time.” “Running with a few simple calculations, if 35% of iPhone users around the world one day wear an Apple Watch, the same adoption percentage found in the U.S., the Apple Watch installed base would exceed 350 million people. That’s 2.5x larger than the current installed base.”
