14 DAY TRIAL // New data indicates that adoption of the Apple Watch Series 3 is improving at a rather fast pace, with more users upgrading from the first-generation model, obviously attracted by the huge performance boost and the LTE support.
Pedometer++ developer David Smith says he observed constant growth for the Apple Watch Series 3 since its debut last fall, while at the same time, previous generations have declined substantially.
This is an indication that customers of the first-gen Apple Watch are upgrading their models to Series 3, which is good news for both users and developers who are coding for the platform.
The demise of the first-gen Apple Watch
Smith explains that despite Apple being more reticent to dropping support for old hardware, the company should abandon the first-generation Apple Watch with the release of watchOS 5 this year, as these older models seriously lag in terms of performance and features when compared to newer devices.
“My personal hope is that this summer when we get watchOS 5 it will drop support for the Series 0 and free Apple to really push forward on what is possible for developers. But in order for that wish to be realistic I imagine Apple will need the daily use of those first watches to have died down significantly,” he writes.
Apple Watch Series 3 comes with a long list of improvements, including a faster processor and LTE support, which allows it to work independently from an iPhone and be able to start calls on its own.
Data offered by IDC for 2017 showed that Apple was the leading wearable brand last year, with the Apple Watch Series 3 accounting for a big part of sales in the last quarter. Apple sold a total of 17.7 million units, up from 11.3 million units in 2016, while in the fourth quarter, the arrival of the Series 3 boosted shipments to no less than 8 million units.
