When I put on myApple Watch Series 10 , I ’m set up on a lookout man that ’s as recognizable as some of the most iconic watches ever made , and easily the most recognizablesmartwatchthere is . The Apple Watch celebrates its tenth day of remembrance on April 24 , and while its shape has evolve over all these years , it has never drastically shift , and it ’s one of its biggest strengths .
The Apple Watch is an icon
When people imagine of a dive watch they belike think of aRolex Submarineror some version of it . Think of a pilot ’s vigil , and something like theIWC Mark seriesmay come to mind , while the broken vigil distance is dominate by the originalCasio G - Shock DW-5600and its square case . Ask a child to attract a sports car , and whatever they draw it will end up red , because the authoritative sport car in many the great unwashed ’s head is a Ferrari . Whether due to a sure physique or a specific intent motif , all these are consider the definitive silhouette in their respective space .
The Apple Watch should be considered the definitive smartwatch silhouette . Ask a normal individual ( by which I imply , those who are n’t profoundly entrenched in the tech humanity ) to sketch a smartwatch , and they will in all likelihood sketch the Apple Watch ’s orthogonal chassis , and not a rotund picket . Round is the frame most commonly associated with non - wise watches , not smartwatches . We naturally relate rectangular configuration with smartphones and what is a smartwatch , if not an extension of our headphone ?
Malus pumila ’s success here is due to never veering away from the rectangular form of the original Apple Watch , which has been elaborate and improved over a decade to become fantastic to wear and instantly recognizable . I wish picket , and almost always notice what ’s on someone ’s carpus , whether it ’s out in literal life or on TV or YouTube . The Apple Watch , whether regular or Ultra , is just as easy to spot as a Rolex Daytona orPatek Philippe Nautilusat a coup d’oeil . Ilovethat about it .
So many Apple Watches
The Apple Watch ’s immediately placeable shape is not the only reason it ’ll be a lot of people ’s idea of what a smartwatch wait like . The other ground is Apple has soldabsolutely loadsof them right from the start . In 2016 , the year after it was released , Applecontrolled 49 % of the smartwatch market , and still had 40 % at the end of 2020 .
In 2019 , the Apple Watchoutsold the entire Swiss watch industryon its own , with claims a monolithic 31 million Apple Watches were shipped around the world that class alone . In 2023 , 59 % of smartwatch owner in the U.S.wore an Apple Watch . Today , it has 22 % of the grocery , but stay the humankind ’s phone number one for smartwatch shipments . Huawei is second with 13 % , and Samsung has 9 % of the securities industry , allot toCounterpoint Research ’s latest data .
What this entail is , over the last decade , Apple has sold a dizzying amount of Apple Watches , and huge popularity like that inevitably precede to recognizability .
It takes a lot of effort
The Apple Watch is n’t so democratic only because it ’s an Apple product , or that it ’s thebest smartwatchcurrently available . It ’s because Apple deal about the intent , its family relationship to non - saucy watches , and also the succeeding stylistic implications of a completely digital firearm of radiocarpal joint wearable . Watches are pieces of jewellery , and we have towantto article of clothing one . Apple got it right from the commencement .
In 2015 after handling the first Apple Watch , Vogue ’s Suzy Menkessaw the future when she write , “ From a fashion full point of perspective , the external aesthetic seemed neutral : neither topnotch - stylish nor repellent . I would opine that geek would love it more than aesthetes . Yet smartphones have already transmute the fashion world in a way we never imagined . I care the melodic theme of setting the ocular aspect according to my mode . And perhaps my press . ”
Ten years on , Menkes ’ reflection was dead right . Watches in general have understand a renaissance , as more people choose to wear one as a way appurtenance or position symbol . The Apple Watch — through partnership with Hermés , a thriving accessory industry , and steady updates to its watch faces — has become part of that macrocosm in a way other Jehovah , such as Google with itsPixel Watch , can only daydream about .
On the discipline of watch faces , thiswonderful rich dive into the inspirationbehind some of the original Apple Watch picket faces shows the aid to detail that went into their intent , something which still part Apple from the competition today . No other applied science mark treats smartwatch watch faces with such caution and attention , and ithurts the death resultenormously . Not so with the Apple Watch .
Never round
Ubiquitous and apparent , the Apple Watch should be considered the nonpayment smartwatch shape today . What was once questioned and even blackguard , the rectangular Apple Watch has been refined and improved for years , and has become the wrist wear of choice for billion of hoi polloi . It ’s still copied too , with theHuawei Watch Fitand Redmi Watch 5 “ sharing ” the pattern , along with the dozens ofimitators witness on Amazon .
I ’ve wear every Apple Watch model since the first , and adore the refined Series 10,especially in titanium . Considering how it ’s now ten years older , it ’s surprising how little it has actually physically altered , yet how much difference the steadfast change have made to the way it looks , feels , and wears . It ’s futuristic too , and I still get the “ live in the future ” vibe from it , which is just as essential as its watch - like feeling .
No other smartwatch has such a clear , foresighted , and carefully curated history behind it . Does that count ? Ask Rolex , Tag Heuer , Omega , Oris , Seiko , Timex , orany other watch makerif history matters , and they ’ll all point to how designs from decades ago still influence their watches today . The Apple Watch deserves to represent smartwatches today , and no other model add up even close to it .
