2015 and 2016 were definitely very difficult years for the smartwatch industry. The Apple Watch, first released during the spring of 2015, was supposed to make the smartwatch a mainstream device. That didn’t happen. Many thought the first version of the Apple Watch not only had poor battery life, but was pretty much an item nobody really needed. For more than a year, it appeared that the Apple Watch would be Apple’s biggest failure in years.

However, by the fall of 2017, Apple had finally released a smartwatch that many thought lived up to its potential. Tech Radar gave Apple’s new wrist gadget four stars.

“The Apple Watch 3 has been the most well-rounded smartwatch experience I’ve had to date. It’s really something you need to use for a few weeks to really appreciate the convenience it brings,” said critic Richard Easton, adding that LTE might not be a requirement for everyone.

Some doubted that the third version of the Apple Watch would finally make it a mainstream device. But, they have been proven absolutely wrong. According to TechCrunch, 2017 sales for the Watch jumped 54 percent when compared to 2016’s numbers. It appears that the cellular version of the Apple Watch Series 3 is the one that’s most in demand.

The Apple Watch is a certified hit. Featured image credit: Daryl Deino

Meanwhile, the more popular the Apple Watch is becoming, the more companies are taking their apps off the device. According to Engadget, Slack is just the latest to make an exit.

“Like Twitter, Amazon, and Google Maps before it, Slack is ditching its Apple Watch app. The team chat and collaboration platform for businesses quietly announced the news via an update to its iOS app. But, that doesn’t mean Slack will disappear entirely from your wrist.”

The article adds that one can still respond to incoming messages on the Apple Watch due to notifications. However, one will not be able to view unread messages. Many think that this isn’t such a big deal because the Apple Watch works best with notifications from apps, not the actual apps themselves, which many consider not useful.

Meanwhile, according to Forbes, the Apple Watch is very good at detecting signs of diabetes. Columnist David Phelan notes that researchers have determined that the Watch, in several tests, was able to distinguish (with an 85 percent accuracy rate) between those who had diabetes and those who didn’t. They tested 14,011 users with the Cardiogram app on the Watch. Perhaps, in the future, the Watch can also detect early signs of the flu.