Wasn't aware I'd made any promises. If you're talking about my opinion, I'm more than happy to admit I'm wrong when the Apple watch is a popular product. But it won't be. It definitely, absolutely won't be. I reckon it'll last three years tops before Apple drops the product line altogether. At best, it'll be equivalent to Apple TV.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Supplier Numbers Suggest Apple Watch Sales Are Below Analyst Expectations
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Wasn't aware I'd made any promises. If you're talking about my opinion, I'm more than happy to admit I'm wrong when the Apple watch is a popular product. But it won't be. It definitely, absolutely won't be. I reckon it'll last three years tops before Apple drops the product line altogether. At best, it'll be equivalent to Apple TV.
Then there are people who ignore the fact Apple won't release official sales figures (likely because they're so poor), the fact market share is so high because the market is soooo small, the large number of poor reviews, the analyst comments about a sharp drop in sales, the story about suppliers to the Apple watch having below expectation turnover...
And "exceeding Apple's own expectations"? Apple aren't publishing anything. They didn't publish their expectations, nor have they published how much it exceeded them by.
And what would you expect them to say? Of course they'll say it exceeded their expectations. But they're lying.
You can bet your butt that if Apple were really happy with the numbers, they would show them off. It makes zero sense to not show the numbers if you're selling a great amount. The only reason to not share sales numbers is because you aren't doing that great and you don't want the competitors to smell blood.
haha thanks for that very useful information. NOT. Why did you buy it in the first place? did you not do any research on what functions it has?
Somehow, a lot of people desperately want the AppleWatch to be a flop. And so do I. But I don't really know why. If this watch truely simplifies life, then why not. But I think we were all very disappointed when it was revealed and launched.
When I saw the watch in the presentation, I accidentally loughed out loud. In my eyes, it was hideous. Totally not what I expected. I had the same feeling with when they announced the price of the first MacBook Air. I was expecting it to be a three digit number, but it was 1000$ higher. From that moment on I knew: I would never want to buy that. Yet I also knew that the were going to sell. Not too much but nontheless. Impressive numbers overall. Only question is: Has it been profitable. They say they got up to 1 B Dollars. But how much did only the incident "GT advanced" cost? Research and production? I believe they might have just broke even.
Now, after the launch, suddenly there is silence (same with AppleMusic). How does it do? Are the products good or bad? We hear many things but nothing exhilerating. We hear quite a bit of negative reviews. Ping, the Cube, MobileMe and others have all disappeared with great silence. The iPod, iPhone, iTunes on the other hand have continuously been praised. So we all make the comparison and think, it might actually be a failure. A failure in that respect that they did not deliver what we were expecting. What were we expecting? Unicorns sending rainbows out in 3D out of our handwrists. Yes, what else would a digital watch be good for? Telling time? Reading short messages? Sending Notifications? Comeon.
In my eyes, Apple simply tried to become the center of the term "Smart Device" like "Smart Phone" or "Smart Watch" which they somehow succeeded (at least in this community) and now every competitor not even remotely wanting to be in that category is sucked into. Pebble and such are probably great products for certain niches, way better in terms of price/functionality. But they did not try to appeal to everyone. Apple did. And in that respect, they obviously failed. The Apple Watch has close to zero appeal for quite a lot of people.
Another thing is: The iPhone is an accessory for young people. The AppleWatch is pretty much the opposite. It's a dull device which - to a certain extent - simplifies life. It is not designed to be hip. So they tried another thing: fashion. But it all felt like a joke.
When I saw the watch in the presentation, I accidentally loughed out loud. In my eyes, it was hideous. Totally not what I expected. I had the same feeling with when they announced the price of the first MacBook Air. I was expecting it to be a three digit number, but it was 1000$ higher. From that moment on I knew: I would never want to buy that. Yet I also knew that the were going to sell. Not too much but nontheless. Impressive numbers overall. Only question is: Has it been profitable. They say they got up to 1 B Dollars. But how much did only the incident "GT advanced" cost? Research and production? I believe they might have just broke even.
Now, after the launch, suddenly there is silence (same with AppleMusic). How does it do? Are the products good or bad? We hear many things but nothing exhilerating. We hear quite a bit of negative reviews. Ping, the Cube, MobileMe and others have all disappeared with great silence. The iPod, iPhone, iTunes on the other hand have continuously been praised. So we all make the comparison and think, it might actually be a failure. A failure in that respect that they did not deliver what we were expecting. What were we expecting? Unicorns sending rainbows out in 3D out of our handwrists. Yes, what else would a digital watch be good for? Telling time? Reading short messages? Sending Notifications? Comeon.
In my eyes, Apple simply tried to become the center of the term "Smart Device" like "Smart Phone" or "Smart Watch" which they somehow succeeded (at least in this community) and now every competitor not even remotely wanting to be in that category is sucked into. Pebble and such are probably great products for certain niches, way better in terms of price/functionality. But they did not try to appeal to everyone. Apple did. And in that respect, they obviously failed. The Apple Watch has close to zero appeal for quite a lot of people.
Another thing is: The iPhone is an accessory for young people. The AppleWatch is pretty much the opposite. It's a dull device which - to a certain extent - simplifies life. It is not designed to be hip. So they tried another thing: fashion. But it all felt like a joke.
So nearly a billion in revenue from the Watch line...is somehow bad? Is this like the Xbox One selling millions and millions more than the 360 in the same period yet being deemed a failure?
However, Tim is only capable of curbing one excess IMO. Inventory Channels. I see no evidence of him restraining anyone, especially Eddy. Apple exists today based on one product. The iPhone. 63% of revenue. 80% of profits. Very dangerous. Tim's two big selfies. AW, and Apple Music. Both dismal attempts fed by copious amount of cash allowing hastily assembled, half baked products, alienating Apple's Base. Not CEO material my experiences. A Superb COO. But that's it.
I think what he's implying that it doesn't have very many useful functions. It's NOT a standalone device. It's just a tack-on for phone users. It's also very toylike. Look, people are free to spend their money on whatever they like. But let's not try to make this accessory wristband out to be anything "big". It isn't.
Apple said before the Watch went on sale that they won't release sales figures, though. Before they had any actual data on how it was selling. And since then the 'other' category has grown nearly a billion dollars, we know the Watch isn't 'failing'.
Analysts have said sales have dropped off, but Apple said they haven't. They could be lying, but they're breaking the law if they are because they have to provide realistic predictions to shareholders, don't they?
True, we don't know their internal sales expectations, they might have aimed to sell 10 watches. But why would they invest so much money, and hype up a product theyre not aiming to sell?
They know what was riding on this product more than anyone.
Even watchOS 1.0 is not fully dependent on iPhone. It count your heart rate and steps even if iPhone is not around. You can use Apple Pay without iPhone. watchOS 2.0 will make Apple Watch mostly independent. https://www.apple.com/watchos-2-preview/
You don't actually have an iPhone, do you? It's got four buttons. Yet, it still managed to sell a few. Oh, you said "one Home button", well the watch has one digital crown. So there.
Sorry, I didn't bother with the rest of your post after this doozie.
When the watch becomes a standalone 4G LTE Internet device, and last several days on a charge like the iPhone, I think it will have many more people interested. Also, people cannot seem to reason out buying a $600 hi-tech device, which is a watch that might be outdated in 6 months. Usually computers these days can last 3-6 years.
They said they weren't divulging numbers going in, even if internally they consider it success.
There's a few Apple Watch lovers on this forum who certainly think so... Despite its flaws and drawbacks, they've been defending this product since day 1 and will continue to extol this product's virtues and shout down any naysayers as Apple trolls. Not going to name names, but these buffoons are the worst.
That's supposed to be Tim's job to act as a sounding board for Jony, but for some reason he, I suspect, does not possess the vocabulary of design-speak to really critique his work. He's afraid to insult him, so out of that behavior he gives Jony the Chief Creative Officer position to do what he wants without the 'head butting'. That's my feeling even though there's a lot more going on in this story than what's reported in the media on that promotion.
I don't know how well they both get along but it sounds like Cook was tired of debating with Ive over the preliminary and late design stages of product cycles and said " Okay. I'll do my thing and you do your thing. You're the boss on that design department ".
Suddenly, Ive now has to deal with two chief industrial designers under him. Now, the bigger question is can these two actually push the envelope? Then again, there's Marc Newson but I read somewhere that he's a temporary or part-time hire by Apple to work with Ive on certain things. I strongly believe Marc was brought on board just for the Watch project as a sounding board for Ive based on his professional background.
Do you tweet on everything your watch says to you? Most smart bands and watches do a similar thing.
What was the point of your post anyway? You should use Twitter for that.
I don't use Twitter. But I knew this thread would be filled with negative comments from people who never used one, so I wanted to post something positive about it.
I've a feeling he's going to do a bit more dancing around, lacking the ability to bring the hammer down and make more effort on focusing. Consider Apple Music which is a mess that he needs to really clean up on besides the Watch. I don't think he will be CEO for long and be succeeded by someone such as Craig which would be a nice change.
Unfortunately, I think whoever succeeds Tim will probably have the challenge in curbing Ive's creative output.