Prices have increased significantly since 2016, from groceries and gasoline to cars and clothing. Apple hasn’t escaped the trend either, with the iPhone 7, for example, starting at $649 when it launched in 2016, compared to $799 for the iPhone 17 in 2025. If you take a look at the Apple Watch, you might be surprised. When the Apple Watch Series 2 arrived in 2016, it started at $369. Fast forward to 2026, and the Apple Watch Series 12 starts at $399, an increase of just $30. Meanwhile, a number of other smartwatch brands have seen more dramatic price increases.
However, some of these comparisons are not identical, as device product lines and their place in the market have changed over the years, but they still offer useful information on price developments. Samsung’s Gear S3 Classic smartwatch, for example, started at $350 in 2016, while the comparable Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, launching in 2025, starts at $420, as of this writing.
Meanwhile, Garmin’s high-end Forerunner line has gone from $450 for the 735XT to $550 for the Forerunner 570, also launching in 2025. The simpler and more modestly priced Pebble 2 smartwatch cost $99 when it landed on Kickstarter in 2016, before being given a retail price of $129. The Pebble Round 2 arrived in 2026 at a price of $199, double the launch price of the Pebble 2 ten years earlier. But whether it’s $30 more for an Apple Watch or $100 for a high-end Garmin, what do you get for that extra money?
More bang for your buck
In 2016, Garmin’s Apple Watch Series 2 and 735XT smartwatches could track exercise. Looking at Apple’s efforts, the company has worked to add more features, with the Series 12 taking heart rate measurements in the background every five seconds, giving it the most frequent heart rate detection ever on an Apple Watch. Unlike the Series 2, the 12 also offers hypertension notifications, ECG functionality, blood oxygen level, sleep tracking and wrist temperature detection, as well as fall and accident detection, international emergency calls and an emergency SOS function.
The newer model also has a faster, more powerful chip, better battery life, fast charging, and an always-on display. Not bad for a $30 increase. Garmin’s Forerunner 735XT, on the other hand, was already a serious multisport smartwatch with GPS, wrist-based heart rate monitoring, running dynamics, cycling/swimming metrics, and support for triathlons. The new Forerunner 570 smartwatch goes much further, adding a brighter AMOLED display, contactless payments, built-in music playback, multi-band GPS for improved positioning, and a much wider range of workout and performance metrics.
It can also suggest daily workouts and wrist-based running power, while its health features include HRV status and stress tracking. Just like the Apple Watch Series 12, there have also been improvements to the basics, including longer battery life. The 570 is clearly a much more advanced watch than the previous comparable model, but while Apple added a lot of features for just $30 more, Garmin added another $100 to the 570’s price for its new features. So where could the price of smartwatches go from here?
Are Smartwatch Prices About to Climb?
Prices of electronic products, including smartwatches, could be very different over the next decade. If you follow the news, you’ll be well aware that the AI boom is already putting pressure on the entire semiconductor industry, as chipmakers divert manufacturing capacity to components needed for AI data centers. This change creates a squeeze in the supply of memory chips used in consumer electronics, driving up costs for manufacturers.
Gartner predicts that prices of critical memory and storage components could increase by up to 130% by the end of 2026, with an estimated price increase of 13% for smartphones and 17% for PCs. And it seems unlikely that smartwatches will escape the same pressures; As in its own analysis, CCS Insight said it expects average device prices to rise 12% in 2026, in part due to rising component costs as manufacturers deal with memory shortages.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean Apple will suddenly raise the prices of its smartwatches by 12%. Indeed, companies may choose to absorb at least part of the higher costs or take other measures, such as changing components or adjusting their product lines. However, after a decade in which Apple managed to keep the prices of its smartwatches remarkably stable, current market conditions may make it difficult for the tech company to avoid raising prices in the future. As for where Apple Watch prices will be in a decade, we’ll leave that prediction to the bravest of people.
