There’s no denying that the use of smartwatches are on the rise, and why the hell not, right? They kinda offer so much more utility than the conventional wristwatch does and that’s understating it. With most people in cities around the world the proud owner of a smartphone, smartwatches add that extra bit of convenience.

Regardless of all that though, you don’t expect smartwatches to outsell reputable Swiss watch industry brands such as Swatch and TAG Heuer. These guys pretty much made the watch industry what it is today. I mean, they sell conventional watches but come on, conventional watches will always sell.. right?

Wrong. It turns out that the Apple Watch didn’t just outsell its smartwatch competitors last year, but the entire Swiss watch industry altogether. That’s right, according to a new sales estimate compiled by Strategy Analytics, it is estimated that Apple shipped nearly 31 million units in 2019, which represents a 36% jump over the year before. The Swiss watch industry on he other hand, only shipped 21.1 million units, representing a 13% decline.

Apple doesn’t reveal the specifics of it’s unit sales for the Apple Watch in its quarterly earnings, so Strategy Analytics collects data from retail partners and vendors to come up with its final number.

“Analog wristwatches remain popular among older consumers, but younger buyers are tipping toward smartwatches and computerized wristwear,”

Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics

This isn’t the first time that the Apple Watch has outsold the Swiss watch industry. Back in 2017, Apple outsold the industry as a whole for one quarter. These latest findings are the first time that the smartwatch has outsold the Swiss watch industry for an entire year.