Smartwatches Push Past Swiss Watches for the First Time

Despite the impression that the smartwatch hype has died down a bit since reaching its apex in Apple’s introduction of the Apple Watch in early 2015, the industry just passed a notable milestone. According to a new report by Strategy Analytics, global smartwatch shipments surpassed Swiss watch shipments for the first time. Worldwide smartwatch shipments amounted to 8.1 million, just beating the Swiss watch industry’s total of 7.9 million.

While most of the world’s watches may come from China these days, Swiss watches are still the gold standard in terms of quality and consumer appeal. The Swiss watch industry has been hesitant to jump on the smartwatch bandwagon, accounting for just 1 percent of smartwatch shipments worldwide.