Roger Fingas
The Apple Watch had no "material impact" on Fitbit's sales in the third quarter, which saw revenue climb 168 percent year-over-year to $409.3 million, the company's CEO said in a results call.
Apple and Fitbit serve "two very different segments in the market" when it comes to the prices and purposes of devices, James Park told investors on Monday. Unlike the Watch, Fitbit devices are exclusively fitness-oriented and cost between $60 and $250. Even the cheapest Watch is $349, and prices can go as high as $17,000.
"We strongly continue to feel that the Apple Watch and Fitbit are targeting two very different consumers," Park said.
After the launch of the Apple Watch in April, some speculation arose that Fitbit sales would drop given the popularity of Apple products and the Watch's inclusion of motion and heart rate sensors. Another factor working in Fitbit's favor, however, is that the Watch is iPhone-only, whereas Fitbit products will also work with Android and Windows phones.
Fitbit shipped 4.8 million devices in the third quarter. Apple has so far kept the details of Watch sales a secret, although the company is believed to have made at least $1.688 billion from them since April.
Share prices for Fitbit have nevertheless fallen since Monday, but only in response to an announcement that it's offering another 7 million shares, while some shareholders will be selling off another 14 million.
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19 Comments
Two different segments, though the fitness tracker space has limited upside. As smart watch tech and functionality improves, Fitbit will be seen as less and less compelling.
I will also say that the larger high-end Fitbit cuff is about the least attractive tracker I have ever seen. Seeing it in person on someone's wrist is jarring. The flex is much more subtle.
Standalone GPS units for your car weren't killed in 2007. It took a couple years.
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This is just like when the point and shoot camera builders said iPhones had no impact on sales.
Just wait till AppleWatch2 or 3. When it has built in GPS it will be game over for fitbit.
The P&S makers experienced a fall in sales, Fitbit sales increased nearly 300%, so you are about 400% away from reality.
This makes perfect sense, Apple sells iPods of different functionality, currently ranging from $49 to $199+ Moreover, a device they recently updated for a market segment that has been in a steady decline for years. Until Apple offers the iPod Shuffle of watches, there will always be need for lower priced alternatives. As wearable functionality improves, adding "smart" elements to these more limited devices, like NFC and payment chips, will keep them in business with essential functionality. Not everyone needs all the features of the ?Watch. Notifications are not essential, among other bells and whistles included with the ?Watch. When the gen 2 Watch comes out, and the gen 1 watch drops down to $250, we'll finally get a better picture of how the ?Watch is going to errode the fitness band market, if at all.