Apple Watch Demand Slides Significantly in June as Launch Momentum Wanes

[ToroidalZeus]

The issue I see with the Apple Watch is that there are multiple things it needs to really take off: thinner form factor, different shapes, better UI, less reliant on the phone, cheaper..

Most of that is impossible to do.Unlike the iPhone where apple holds back technology (1gb ram, 16gb storage, etc) the AW is cutting edge top of the line technology. The AW only has a 200mAh battery (1900 for the iPhone) and so if they made it any smaller it'd have no battery. Likewise having a dedicated LTE chip would KILL battery life hence why the AW is reliant on the phone.

As for UI, I agree they could make it better however without SJ it doesn't seem like Apple knows what good UI is anymore.

in short GG AW.

 

[Rogifan]

Disagree. Tim is doing a great job. Don't blame him for the lack of innovation in the industry in general. We're in a technology plateau. There are a lot of exciting technologies in the early stages of development that will be exciting in the future and lead to amazing new products. But they are years away. People need to stop expecting a showstopper every year. It's unrealistic to the point of being ridiculous.

Tim is doing exactly what we need him to do. He's running a well oiled machine. He's selling tons of the bread and butter product (iPhone). Craig the used car salesman doesn't strike me as CEO material.

The watch is a bomb. Like you said, if sales were strong, he'd be throwing out numbers every chance he got. But that alone doesn't make him a bad CEO.

Before the Watch ever went on sale Apple said it would be reporting the Watch as part of "other" in their financials. This isn't something they're hiding from people because of poor sales. Could it be that Apple never expected it to be a runaway blockbuster right off the bat like iPad was? And why does it have to be? iPod didn't really take off until 2004, after iTunes launched on Windows.

 

[calzon65]

Some interesting features on the watch, but I can't get past the concept of having to recharge my watch every day. Yes, I have to recharge my iPhone, iPad, and laptop often, sometimes each night and I'm used to that, but I can't get past having to recharge my watch every night.

 

[Mr Fusion]

I am seeing the same mixed reviews as the iPad 1.

And those reviews are still true... Crippled product running a Phone OS, can't replace a laptop. And sure enough, sales are tanking.

Apple succeeds when they fix a product line that needs a user-friendly interface. Smart watches didn't suck just because of the interface, they sucked because smart watches as a concept were a terrible idea to begin with. And now we are seeing that concept ring true, even for the mightiest of tech giants.

 

[bbqkimchi]

I bought an apple watch the second they became available for preorder and have worn it everyday for over 2 months now.

Pros:
-Reminds me to get up and move if I'm being lazy
-Tracks my cycling workouts better than run keeper
-My iPhone battery lasts longer
-Gives a great hands free alternative for directions/mapping compared to iPhone.
-ApplePay & Passbook turn heads like nobody's business
-Has the single most comfortable watch band I've ever tried. (Sport Band)
-Sunrise/Sunset complication more useful than I imagined
-Multiple watch faces are a definite plus and I switch between them according to what info I need
-iPhone Camera shutter release on watch gives me new photographic powers I otherwise don't carry daily
-Ion-X glass wayyyyy more scratch resistant than one would think, I bump it everyday, looks new
-Overall ability to detach from iPhone while at work and home but still be connected

Cons:
-Every other day the digital crown gets sweat or something behind it that creates a resistance, washes out
-My friends don't have one
-I now travel with two chargers instead of one
-Developers make stupid apps for it, DJ, eBay, any game
-Must have iPhone 5 or newer (Brother has a 4s, he's envious, but is waiting for a 6s + watch)

Will the watch succeed? Fail? I see it this way...

Are wearables going to be a thing? Will the masses enjoy being able to not keep the all knowing 5 inch screen near them at all times. After two months of wearing a wearable, the answer for me is yes. I like having a wearable in addition to my smart phone, and I like it on my wrist. It's ecosystem or bust these days, so the mobile options are really...

iPhone + Apple watch
Nokia/Microsoft + Micrsosoft band thingy (worn it, bulky and ugly)
Android (vulnerable) + Glass? (I've worn them, STUPID) or Android + supposed new upcoming watch?
Pebble? Lame.

Will the next apple watch be better, duh. The ability to define a wearable's usefulness to my family, friends and colleagues is priceless and made getting a first gen a no-brainer. Anyone on this forum is probably the tech guru in their family and circle of friends who are counting on you to figure it out.

 

[srosgen]

Apple Watch sales in the United States appear to have slowed down significantly in June based on new data that research firm Slice Intelligence shared with MarketWatch. Following a steep decline in the days after Apple Watch pre-orders commenced, which is to be expected of any product, daily U.S. sales remained relatively stable through May before experiencing a large drop-off last month as launch momentum begins to wane.

The report claims that Apple is now selling fewer than 20,000 watches per day in the United States, and fewer than 10,000 on certain days, while the logarithmic chart above indicates that sales dipped to as low as 4,000 to 5,000 units per day in late June. The data does not account for sales in Canada, Australia, United Kingdom or the twelve other countries where the Apple Watch is sold outside of the United States.

Slice Intelligence claims that two-thirds of Apple Watches sold to date have been the entry-level Sport model, far outselling the more expensive stainless steel Watch and 18-karat gold Edition models that start at $549 and $10,000 respectively. The research firm estimates that Apple has sold fewer than 2,000 luxury Apple Watch Edition models in the U.S. through June.

Slice Intelligence previously estimated 1 million Apple Watch pre-orders at launch, an average 30,000 Apple Watch sales per day in late May and an estimated 2.8 million total sales as of mid June. The research firm's sales estimates are based on e-receipt data from online shoppers in the United States that opted-in to have their inboxes tracked for email receipts.

Apple has not publicly disclosed any Apple Watch sales figures since the wrist-worn device launched in April, and will be grouping the device under its "Other Products" category, which combines sales of Apple Watch, iPod, Apple TV, Beats Electronics and accessories, in its quarterly fiscal reports. Apple's Q3 FY 2015 results are scheduled to be released on July 21 at 2:00 PM Pacific.

Article Link: Apple Watch Demand Slides Significantly in June as Launch Momentum Wanes

Overpriced and under-featured. Bought one for my wife who didn't have a fitness tracker, so the $519 Canadian for a sport watch was acceptable. Comparing the Apple Watch to my fitbit Charge HR makes it clear that fitbit is a better fitness watch. Paying $519 entry price for everything else (watch, texts, emails, maps, etc.) just doesn't make economic sense. They are nice perks, but not worth the full price.

Apple either needs to drop its prices, or vastly improve it's fitness tracking software (the main place where it loses BADLY compared to the fitbit) to be at all relevant.

Amusing that for all the Apple hype they choose to group the Watches financial results with apple tv and beats accessories – this is clearly a failed launch. Hopefully they make improvements to future generations.

 

[HenryDJP]

There are 2 things I will never buy from Apple.
1. Apple Watch
2. 12inch new MacBook

Useless

Your opinion

powerless

Your opinion

expensive toys.

Not only is this your opinion, but price and value are subjective.

 

[nfl46]

Honestly, this isn't shocking.

 

[Rogifan]

Everything here is an opinion mr know it all. The fact that Apple hasn't released any sales figures is extremely telling. I'm not really interested in eating popcorn and waiting. The product didn't interest me when it was announced. Now that I've used one, I'm even less interested. I only care about the Apple Watch if it affects my Apple investment. I don't see that happening anytime soon because I don't think this silly little vanity accessory really moves the needle for Apple in either direction.

No it's not telling as Apple said from day one they would not be providing data on the Watch. Last year they told Wall Street analysts it would be part of "other". Quite honestly I wouldn't mind if Apple stopped reporting sales figures all together. None of their peers do it or if they do its not consistent. There is no SEC requirement to provide sales figures for individual products.

 

[furi0usbee]

Everyone who really wanted one has one. For the rest of the consumers, I don't see it as compelling. I don't wear watches, and the Apple Watch, it it's current incarnation, isn't one that would get me to start wearing them. Someday when it's self-sufficient, and can be used as a phone, without paying on your standard iPhone plan, maybe I'd bite. But there is not one thing that it can do that I wish something on my wrist could do.

I was VERY down on the watch, hated it. My thoughts haven't changed. I would pass on one at $99. I know after a few days I would never use it.

 

[splash5]

maybe they can get back to making good computers again... vs what they have been churning out over the past few years!!!

 

[AleXXXa]

1st major launch for Tim Cook, 1st major fail.

 

[furi0usbee]

maybe they can get back to making good computers again... vs what they have been churning out over the past few years!!!

I SECOND THAT! I want the Apple I know to be a computer maker first, a phone maker second, and after you perfect that, go off and conquer other markets. But some of the weak computers that have come out lately..... My AppleCare on my 2012 rMBP 15" just ran out and I'm keeping this until it dies. Thankfully for me, I've had about $4.5k of repairs on Apple's dime for this machine.. displays, logic boards, battery,etc. So it's really like a new computer. The only thing original you can see from the outside is the bottom case. Just about everything else has been replaced. It runs like a champ. There is nothing that compels me to sell it and upgrade. What, for a computer with a single port? Nah...

 

[HenryDJP]

Well let's all celebrate and here's to hoping Apple's entire business fails, as most people here seem to want that to happen. Back to being dictated by Microsoft.

 

[SteveBlobs]

If they'd just included the universal translator app like I told them to, then these things would be selling like hot cakes (assuming most people still eat hot cakes).

 

[robbyx]

No it's not telling as Apple said from day one they would not be providing data on the Watch. Last year they told Wall Street analysts it would be part of "other". Quite honestly I wouldn't mind if Apple stopped reporting sales figures all together. None of their peers do it or if they do its not consistent. There is no SEC requirement to provide sales figures for individual products.

No argument. But I also feel that if sales were really strong, we would have seen a press release by now touting how Apple just sold the most wearables in history or more Watches opening weekend than Pebble has sold to date, etc. The silence is telling.

 

[ColdShadow]

I'm not surprizes at all.
it failed because:

1-it was an un-necessary accesory for iPhone.

2-it has no real unique function in other words it was useless.

3-poor battery and it heavily drains iPhone's already average battery charge.

4-design was bulky and un-attractive.

5-the pricing of pladtic rubber bands was an insult to every human with average to high IQ.

I personally wouldn't want one even as a free gift.

Apple Watch will now become a hobby niche product.it will never change any body's life.it's nothing more than a fitness tracker.

 

[marty11]

The only way this watch can rebound is if apple makes this less an overpriced object for Tools, and more and affordable item for the Masses.

They shot the moon thinking this was some elite fashion item. Time to come back down to earth. It's a digital watch with some bells.

 

[robbyx]

maybe they can get back to making good computers again... vs what they have been churning out over the past few years!!!

70%+ of Apple's revenue is the iPhone. They're not much interested in computers these days.

 

[srosgen]

Can't imagine how other smart watches are doing right now.

What difference does it make how other watches are doing?

Do you think companies console themselves over terrible launches because other company's did worse? Apple was supposed to revolutionize the category like it did with the iPod, iPhone, and the iPad and now it's grouping the sales from its watch with the Apple TV and Beats accessories just to hide how dismal the Apple Watches launch was.

I'm just hoping they learn from this and make substantial improvements when they launch the next generation.

 

[gadgetguy03]

Peaks and plateaus. We're definitely in a plateau. Much like we were before multitouch arrived. The thing is, pre-Internet there wasn't this ridiculous, foolish craving for something new and amazing every year, something revolutionary. It's going to be years, maybe a decade or more, before we see another leap. Natural language processing and voice driven systems like Siri will be huge one day, once they gain the ability to "think" a bit. No doubt we'll see some interesting display tech too and eventually we'll stop talking about the next (not) big thing called wearables and jump right to embedables. Enjoy the plateau. We're going to be here for a while.

Exactly. There has been nothing released recently that made me say "I need that in my life right now." I see the Watch as improving and I still want one eventually, but right now there's nothing that makes it worth the investment for me.

 

[srosgen]

I can tell you - I know everyone in Canada and I have yet to see one.

lol, no my wife has one.

 

[TMRJIJ]

What difference does how other watches are doing?

Do you think companies console themselves over terrible launches because other company's did worse? Apple was supposed to revolutionize the category like it did with the iPod, iPhone, and the iPad and now it's grouping the sales from its watch with the Apple TV and Beats accessories just to hide how dismal the Apple Watches launch was.

I'm just hoping they learn from this and make substantial improvements when they launch the next generation.

They grouped the watch with Apple TV and Beat accessories from day 1. They told Wall Street it was part of "other" category last year.

 

[bbeagle]

1st major launch for Tim Cook, 1st major fail.

The Apple Watch has outsold every other smart watch ever made COMBINED... and it's still outselling every other one COMBINED every week.... but it's still a 'fail'... okay *sigh*

I love how a 'fail' in the Apple universe means that Apple's newest product hasn't broken iPhone records.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

I would think that the decision to not have the traditional lines out the door added to the quick drop in demand, and I'll also bet that the announcement of the 'New Apple Watch' will damp demand too.

They should have held the idea of a 'New Apple Watch' closer to the vest, and, perhaps, denied the idea, and perhaps not actually do that until perhaps 2017, or later.

To many times, I feel like I'm on an escalator when I buy an Apple product like an iPhone, iPad, or iPod. The thing becomes obsolete within the amount of time that I purchase, and the next 'bump'. Sometimes the 'bump' isn't worth it, but it kinda blows anyway. I'm left with 'I just bought the worlds best x, and now it's outdated, and the feature 'y' of the new model would be so much better'...

But anyway...