Apple Watch: How many smartwatches will Apple sell? This is what analysts are predicting
The countdown is nearly over and in just a few hours time Tim Cook will be revealing all there is to know about the Apple Watch.
Fresh from record-breaking numbers – from a valuation of $700bn, to selling an iPhone every nine seconds last quarter – can we expect more of the same from the Apple Watch?
The pressure is on Tim Cook with his first fresh product launch at the helm of the company, but the hype machine is, of course, in overdrive.
Analysts are predicting some huge numbers – and some figures that are much more reserved.
Rounding up 11 analysts predictions which encompass a conservative 8m unit sales in 2015, to the more ambitious 42m, that brings it in at an average of 21m.
Here’s how those predictions stack up with actual first-year sales of the iPad and iPhone for comparison.
Almost all analysts have called 2015 as the year of wearables and predict Apple will dominate the market.
The tech giant will sell more Apple Watches than the rest of the market combined, according to Strategy Analytics, grabbing a 55 per cent market share and making it the number one smartwatch vendor in the world. It also predicts that it will be the biggest fuel to the 511 per cent growth in global smartwatch shipments which will happen this year.
"The Apple Watch is the catalyst to ignite the global smartwatch market. Apple's famous brand, loyal fan base, deep retail presence and extensive apps ecosystem will ensure healthy uptake for its watch,” said Neil Mawston, executive director at the research firm.
CCS insights is expecting the overall wearables market to boom, with sales of 29m wearable devices last year rocketing to 172m by 2018. Apple will account for a quarter of the wearables market this year, which also includes other devices not solely smartwatches.
"The Apple Watch will be instrumental in taking the wearables market to the next level of growth. If successful, it'll create a rising tide that will lift the whole market. People without an iPhone will still have a huge choice of alternative wearables. If the Apple Watch performs as well as expected, its halo effect will result in a sales bonanza in the second half of 2015, with record-breaking shipments in the important fourth quarter,” said CCS Insights chief researcher Ben Wood.
It sound like Apple will carry on racking up those records then.