The big picture: Over the years through constant revisions (we're now on Series 4 with a new version expected sometime next month alongside refreshed iPhones ), the Apple Watch has made real progress with standout features and useful apps. It's now the category leader that all others hope to one day emulate the success of.

Apple had a vision for the Apple Watch, part of a broad category of tech wearables that many Android players may have prematurely written off.

The first Apple Watch launched in mid-2014 and while many felt it was the best of the bunch, that wasn't really saying munch considering the concept hadn't yet proven itself. In the eyes of many, smartwatches didn't meet a need or serve a purpose. They were neat, sure, but unnecessary and added little value.

As Above Avalon correctly identifies, the wearables era at Apple continues to unfold and is boosted by three factors that no other company has the luxury of leveraging.

The first is a massive install base of iPhones (around 925 million globally), the second is the notion of making technology more personal, intuitive and easy to use and last but not least, a thriving platform consisting of multiple wearables products (AirPods are also considered wearables so it's not just the watch).

According to the publication, Apple's wearables business is now at a $16 billion annual run rate and is growing at 55 to 60 percent. Should the current pace persist, the wearables category will outpace both the iPad and Mac by the end of 2020 to become the third largest product category for Apple behind the iPhone and services in terms of sheer revenue.

Masthead credit: Apple Watch Series 4 by Denys Prykhodov. Apple AirPods by DedMityay.