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Boston Globe
3 days ago
- General
- Boston Globe
Don't buy your kids a phone. Buy them a watch.
Write to us at . To subscribe, . TODAY'S STARTING POINT I knew they were arguing about something when they got off the bus, and my older son, who was finishing his second year of high school, came through the door first complaining about how his little brother and his sixth-grade buddies never shut up on the bus. That's when my 12-year-old burst in the door, about to get an 'Amen!' from me. 'It's because we're the only ones who don't have phones!' The Massachusetts Senate wants to make that everyone . The lawmakers recently When my younger son finished elementary school, for a graduation gift we surprised him with a watch, an Apple SE, the cheapest of the Apple watches, because it checked every box you'd want and none you wouldn't. For kids. And probably for adults. Advertisement His crew of buddies received the same exact gift, and what's very weird, and perhaps not surprising, is that the parents hadn't coordinated. It just makes that much sense for a first mobile device. The market for smart watches is already at Advertisement The cellular model of the watch doesn't have to be paired with a phone, and has its own number along with its own plan, which is just $10 a month. (Other brands include Which is the amount of time the average American spends on their phone each day, My 12-year-old remains at zero, and I wish I could join him. For the second straight summer I've watched him get up every day, curl up on the couch, and then speak into his wrist like Buck Rogers. Does anyone want to go fishing? Or play soccer at the school? Let's do something. After breakfast, he disappears on his bike, and will check in with odd questions and requests, coming in and out of the house with other kids with watches. At some point his older brother will emerge to flop onto the couch and disappear into his phone. Advertisement He got his phone for Christmas in eighth grade, which is on the late side. But it didn't take but a moment for him to start using it way too much, just like everyone else. The Massachusetts bill would ban phones from 'bell to bell,' and the hope is that it will lead to improvements in mental health and the social lives of the students, and limit the endless distraction of the world's most influential device begging to be played with. The bill has support from Governor Healey and the state's two largest teachers unions, but it is unclear when the House will take up the matter. Some opponents have listed safety concerns in case of emergency, and say that a ban would deprive schools of the chance to teach students how to become responsible about screen time. That seems like wishful thinking. But this is not: If the House passes the bill, which cruised through the Senate 38-2, it will go into effect for the 2026-2027 school year, and my younger son will graduate from high school without spending a single day in school with a phone to distract him. And his brother will sound like we do when we look back on the days before helmets and seatbelts. He'll talk about being the last generation to spend all day screwing around on his phone, before we realized how antisocial — and harmful — that could be. 🧩 5 Down: 78° Advertisement POINTS OF INTEREST Garrett Crochet (left), Trevor Story (center), and Greg Weissert model some of Paul Procopio's creations. Tim Healey/Globe Staff Cannabis Control Commission: A state audit of the agency that regulates Massachusetts' marijuana industry found Market Basket: A judge granted the grocery chain's request for a restraining order against two fired executives who are allies of its suspended CEO, Language arts: Boston Public Schools are Tough start: Braintree lost its first Little League World Series game in Threatening: Video appears to show a man Storied shirts: This lifelong Red Sox fan has become the source for the team's RFK Jr.: Trump's health secretary is hostile toward the mRNA technology underpinning Covid vaccines, chilling investment in experimental therapies 'Fear everywhere': ICE has focused more on Worcester and Boston so far, but fears of arrest and deportation Arrested: The man who Artificial intelligence: Meta let its AI chatbots have 'romantic or sensual' conversations with kids. Lawmakers pledged to investigate. ( Advertisement VIEWPOINTS Call it antisocial media: Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were meant to foster connection. Instead, A D.C. debate: The capital city's BESIDE THE POINT By Teresa Hanafin 🏟️ Jarren Duran lookalikes: If you think you resemble the Red Sox outfielder, show up on the Big Concourse at Fenway (Gate C) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday (you must have a ticket to that game). 🐶 Take one, leave one: At Little Fresh Pond Dog Beach in Cambridge, your canine companion can participate in 🏖️ Same vibe: Obsessed with the Prime Video series 'The Summer I Turned Pretty'? Here are 💿 Quiet summer: No up-tempo, catchy, season-defining hit has emerged as the 2025 song of summer. 📺 Weekend streams: 'Butterfly' on Prime Video, 'Night Always Comes' on Netflix, 'The Legend of Ochi' on HBO Max, and 💘 Blind date: They both enjoy board games, among other things. Will one of them 🔑 Tourist tales: Keys dropped in toilets, shockingly unprepared travelers, missing kids. Here are some wild stories from Advertisement Thanks for reading Starting Point. This newsletter was edited by ❓ Have a question for the team? Email us at ✍🏼 If someone sent you this newsletter, you can 📬 Delivered Monday through Friday. Billy Baker can be reached at
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Apple retains lead in global smartwatch market, but cracks are growing
Apple maintained its lead as the world's top smartwatch brand in the year 2024, but did so at the cost of declining market share, while rivals such as Samsung and Chinese labels saw an uptick in their sales. Apple ended the year with a 22% share of the global market, down from 25% in 2023, amounting to a 19% reduction in yearly shipments. According to Counterpoint's Global Smartwatch Shipments report, the global smartwatch market shrunk for the first time ever in 2024. 'The downturn was primarily due to a decline in Apple's shipments as the basic smartwatch segment saw lower upgrades amid a slowdown,' says the report. Apple's lead in the market is primarily attributed to its massive iPhone user base, but the momentum was weaker due to a lukewarm upgrade situation. This won't be the first time that Apple was beaten at raw growth figures by a familiar rival in 2024, as the year-end IDC smartwatch report also painted a similar picture. As per Counterpoint's Senior Research Analyst, Anshika Jain, the absence of an upgraded Apple Watch Ultra 3 and timely refresh of the Apple SE model, coupled with an unimpressive innovation stack on the Apple Watch Series 10, contributed to a lower buyer uptake in North America. 'Additionally, patent disputes limited shipments in the first half of the year. The slowdown of the existing Apple Watch SE lineup and the lack of new SE models also contributed to the decline,' Jain was quoted as saying. To recall, Apple is yet to release an updated low-cost 'SE' model, which is rumoured to get a plastic chassis for its next iteration in order to maintain a competitive asking price. In the meanwhile, rivals such as Samsung and OnePlus have been offering fairly robust Wear OS smartwatches in the budget segment. Moreover, Apple's patent tussles with Masimo, which resulted in a restriction on sale of its latest smartwatch models with the disputed pulse oximetry (blood oxygen saturation level measurement) system onboard, also came as a big setback. Back then, the ban covered two of Apple's flagship models, the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Watch Ultra 2. While the global smartwatch market shrunk, China clocked the highest share of shipments on a per-market basis for the first time. Among the local players, Xiaomi witnessed the biggest growth worth an astonishing 135%, while Huawei recorded a 35% surge in annual shipments. These two brands offer an expansive portfolio of smartwatch models, which not only cater to varied price brackets, but also entirely different buyer segments based on looks and feature set. Huawei's rise, in particular, should worry Apple. Huawei's smartwatches have not only caught up with Apple in terms of sensor tech innovation, but also made a leap. For example, no Apple Watch model currently allows blood pressure monitoring. Huawei's Watch D2, however, comes with a unique micropump system integrated within the watch strap that allows users to keep an eye on blood pressure levels. Apple is said to be eyeing the next major sensor breakthrough for smartwatches, one that could allow non-invasive blood glucose monitoring, and possibly pressure sensing, as well. However, that is yet to materialize. Upstarts like Novosound, however, have already demonstrated an integrated multi-functional wearable ultrasound sensor that is capable of monitoring blood pressure levels in real time without cuffs or wires. The company says its sensor stack is ready for deployment in watches and even smart rings. It would be interesting to see how Apple manages to deliver on the promise of yet another smartwatch breakthrough, after pioneering the segment and leading it for years.
