As I listened to this week’s financial recap of
Apple’s latest blockbuster quarter, I kept my ears
perked for mentions of the places where the company
seemed to be doing particularly well.Ready to wear
If there’s one standout bright spot in this quarter’s
results, it’s probably Apple’s wearables/home/
accessories category, which grew a staggering 54
percent year over year to a revenue of $6.5 billion.
To put that in a larger context, Tim Cook said that the
wearables business “generated more annual revenue
than two-thirds of the companies in the Fortune
500”. For a business that more or less didn’t exist
five years ago, that’s a heck of a growth curve.
The upshot? Don’t expect Apple to back off
wearables anytime soon. Given that the category
currently encompasses the Apple Watch, AirPods (and
new AirPods Pro), and the Beats audio devices, there’s
still a lot of room left to expand. Of course, a much-
rumoured Apple augmented reality headset is the
primary target of speculation here, but even should
that materialize, that’s still only a small percentage
of the body accounted for. There are plenty of other
possibilities, from smart rings to additional health
sensors that can communicate with your Apple Watch.
Dare I even speculate about, some day, smart shoes?
Wearables are the most personal form of technology
that Apple has developed – they’re on our bodies, after
all – and that tends to engender strong feelings. Cook
also argued that wearables represent different things to
different customers: fitness to some, health to others,AsIlistenedtothisweek’sfinancialrecapof
Apple’slatestblockbusterquarter,Ikeptmyears
perkedformentionsoftheplaceswherethecompany
seemedtobedoingparticularlywell.
Readytowear
Ifthere’sonestandoutbrightspotinthisquarter’s
results,it’sprobablyApple’swearables/home/
accessoriescategory,whichgrewastaggering 54
percentyearoveryeartoarevenueof$6.5billion.
Toputthatinalargercontext,TimCooksaidthatthe
wearablesbusiness“generatedmoreannualrevenue
thantwo-thirdsofthecompaniesintheFortune
500”.Forabusinessthatmoreorlessdidn’texist
five yearsago,that’saheckofagrowthcurve.
Theupshot?Don’texpectAppletobackoff
wearablesanytimesoon.Giventhatthecategory
currentlyencompassestheAppleWatch,AirPods(and
newAirPodsPro),andtheBeatsaudiodevices,there’s
stillalotofroomlefttoexpand.Ofcourse,amuch-
rumouredAppleaugmentedrealityheadsetisthe
primarytargetofspeculationhere,butevenshould
thatmaterialize,that’sstillonlyasmallpercentage
ofthebodyaccountedfor.Thereareplentyofother
possibilities,fromsmartringstoadditionalhealth
sensorsthatcancommunicatewithyourAppleWatch.
DareIevenspeculateabout,someday,smartshoes?
Wearablesarethemostpersonalformoftechnology
thatApplehasdeveloped–they’reonourbodies,after
all–andthattendstoengenderstrongfeelings.Cook
alsoarguedthatwearablesrepresentdifferentthingsto
differentcustomers:fitnesstosome,healthtoothers,