When Apple designer Jony Ive stated that the Apple Watch could endanger Switzerland’s traditional watchmaking industry, many industry watchers dismissed the boast as pure hubris. Three years later, Joe Thompson of Watchtime Magazine observed that “The Baselworld show, ended March 30, was grim.” His observation was prompted by three successive years of falling Swiss exports, something that hadn’t happened since 1930, in the depths of the Great Depression.
That came on the heels of a report by Strategy Analytics that worldwide smartwatch shipments reached 8.1 million units in Q4 2015 compared to 7.9 million for Swiss watch shipments. The research firm, notes that shipment growth of smartwatches exploded 316% from 1.9 million in Q4 2014. How’s that for hubris?
Apple Inc.
Website: https://www.apple.com/watch/
Year (of first major innovation): 1984
Innovations: Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, wireless checkout, retailing, mobile payments
Innovation Types: Product, Process, Supply Chain
