Apple Hints at Strong Watch Sales After Shares Sink – Business & Technology

When the iPad launched, it sold 3 million units in its first 11 weeks, so we can assume that Apple Watch sold at least 2 million units for the quarter.

The research firm notes that these are “very early days for mass market smartwatches”. He said he would also expect a decline in sales following launch, especially as the first half of the year draws to a close.

The FactSet survey found Wall Street analysts expected, on average, sales of 4 million watches in the quarter that ended in June.

Apple refrained from breaking out sales figures for the Apple Watch, the glitzy new device released in April, when it reported June quarter earnings on Tuesday. Some analysts have since lowered their estimates.

Cook said during an earnings call that sales of iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Macintosh computers “topped internal expectations”.

A lackluster debut for the Apple Watch could add to lingering doubts about Apple’s ability to innovate under his leadership.

The hearty sales numbers for the iPhone were nonetheless significant, given the fact that the third quarter has traditionally shown slow smartphone sales as consumers tend to hold off on buying until a new model comes out later in the year. Apple did not immediately release Apple Watch sales by unit but did report revenue of $2.64 billion in an “Other Products” category, which grew 49 percent over past year. The CEO then raised two points regarding the sales of the Apple Watch. “We don’t intend to provide insight that could help our competitors”, said senior vice president and chief financial officer Luca Maestri on the call. But what of the Apple Watch?

However, marketers to a great extent are still trying to figure out how to engage with the Apple Watch’s current user base of early adopters and influencers.

Apple’s growth is commendable, but analysts are watching to see when it will plateau. “The ball is now in the court of rivals, like Samsung, to respond”, Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics, said in a statement.

Move over Samsung. Apple is now the dominant smartwatch vendor. Strategy Analytics believes Apple sold 4 million Apple Watches during the second quarter (Q2) of 2015 and took a 75 percent share of the worldwide smartwatch market.

Grouping all other smartwatch makers together, Strategy Analytics gave them a market share of 17 percent for the last quarter, down from 26 percent in the same quarter in 2014.