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Tim Cook: Apple Watch Sales 'Exceeded Expectations'

Iconoclysm said:
There's that toy word again...can't count the number of times the iPhone and iPad were called "toys".
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There is a strong correlation which shows that a successful, disruptive product must initially be met with resistance from naysayers otherwise it is not likely to be successful. If everyone accepts it from day 1 then the product is probably not truly disruptive. The product must make some people uncomfortable initially. As you say, we saw this with the iPhone and iPad and even the iPod.

Reading the scathing posts from the naysayers in this thread just makes me even more certain that the Watch will be a huge success. :cool:
 
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Reds622 said:
According to same analysts, Apple Watch sales were around 1.2 million..

Doesn't seem all that strong to me, but I must admit, I have always been extremely skeptical of this product.
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What analysts have said 1.2 million? Maybe 1.2 million is the US alone. The lowest I've seen is 2 million and that seems extremely conservative.
 
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Noble Actual said:
Have yet to see one actually being worn.

Might have to do that no one gives a **** about it i


When have they ever had confidence or cared about the Apple TV? Its a hobby to them.

The iPods got updated first than the Apple TV. lol
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Daily see plenty of people wearing one. Might have to do that plenty of people given whatever it is that they give about it.
 
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Rogifan said:
The point is it's all guesses. Gene Munster guesses ASP is $550. Ben Bajarin thinks closer to $400. Nobody outside of Apple execs have any way of knowing so all these guesses are pointless.
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Well, knowing the total sales is around $1B gives us a basis for more educated guesses. We know the cheapest product is $349 and I think we can safely assume the ASP will be closer to the $349 level then the $599 steel watch level (ignoring the gold watches for now). I'd go with $450 personally which suggests 2.2 million units. That's since mid to late April and TC has already said that June sales were higher than April and May, probably due to supply constraints. (remember Apple only declares a sale once shipped to the end user).
 
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oneMadRssn said:
I agree with Tim Cook's comments regarding the upcoming holiday shopping season - that will be the real test of the Apple Watch's success.
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That's probably why we're going to get Watch OS 2.0, and rumored new case materials, and likely band choices.

I'm curious to see what happens with the Edition watches since Cook stated they would be sold in a very limited edition, but not how many that would actually. Will they be sold out by the holidays, or will Apple just increase the "limited" amount? I was really expecting a $1500-2000 gold clad version, but if they keep selling the Edition not likely. I also expect to see a Platinum Edition, so maybe it won't matter.

Either way, that's going to be many more choices than what Apple had trouble offering for the initial launch -- and during the holidays, people won't be able to wait weeks to take delivery. So this will indeed be a very interesting test.

But I do expect it to do well. When someone doesn't know what to buy somebody (who has everything), then the safe thing is to buy them something from the same brand they already buy. And who doesn't like or appreciate a new tech gadget at Christmas, especially if it also looks nice and seems better than what it actually is?
 
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Excep
the8thark said:
Remember Jobs satying he wanted 1% of the Smartphone Market when the iPhone was launched in 2007? That's low expectations. And I think the watch was the same.
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Except Cook didn't say that and there's no reason to believe he and the other execs would be pleased with 1% of the smart watch market.

The "low expectations" was offered as snark by the person posting that - thus my response.
 
Apple should give up on watches and the Mac and just focus on mobile, TV and entertainment. They would be more profitable.
 
Mlrollin91 said:
What analysts have said 1.2 million? Maybe 1.2 million is the US alone. The lowest I've seen is 2 million and that seems extremely conservative.
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"Around" 2 million seems pretty close, most likely.. Although I wouldn't be shocked if the number ended up being lower. Either way, does anyone really expect Watch sales to increase substantially over the next 3 months? All the early adopters have already purchased the device.. Now the sales will be getting to the rest of the market. It's pretty likely, I would say very likely, that watch sales over the next 3 months or so are going to be ghastly, i.e., tank, and that's why it seems like Cook and Apple are betting on a lot of adopters purchasing the watch as Christmas gifts in the holiday season, when so many are looking for something "new." I'm still not buying that either, but we'll soon find out.

I think the only way the watch really catches on as a mainstream device is if the form factor changes dramatically, enabling a larger screen size without changing the size of the device (projection system). Otherwise, I just don't see it. It will just be a "thing" that some people wear, but never catches on substantially.
 
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I tend to believe, their claim is, at least, somewhat true.

First of all, sooner or later people will come after, how much they have really sold, especially in comparison to other brands. Regardless of Apple's expectations, whatever they might have been.

Second, and personally most important thing: it did exceed my personal expectations as well.

So, why bother...
 
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Karma*Police said:
I agree; just like the Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad were toys to some people.
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That was the knock on iPad for at least the first gen. Literally that's what people called it in order to mock. People who consider the watch in the same class as a standalone device clearly shouldn't be investing money on something they don't understand.
 
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DakotaGuy said:
I just don't see a lot of young people wearing watches anymore. Apple will sell some watches and it will probably do fine as a hobby product, but honestly I don't see it becoming the next "big thing" like the iPhone. I still wear a watch, but I'm in my late 30's and my younger friends in their early 20's laugh about it saying that no one wears them anymore except old farts. :)
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I agree. Very few people in their 20s have ever worn watches because cell phones were already around when they came of age. It's similar to CDs. Most CDs are being bought by older people because digital music has always been around for young people.
 
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keysofanxiety said:
You and me too, I can't help but remember the comments on MR after the Galaxy Gear was released, laughing how Apple wouldn't release something with less than 2 days battery life and a touchscreen/simple zoom interface. As far as I can see it's just a nicer version of a Gear. Nobody I know who's tried it has said its interface was intuitive like the iPhone immediately was, though they'll 'learn to love it'. =/

Ah well, I'm not one to judge on how people spend their money. If it works for them and it's a useful tool, it's good that Apple have a product in the wearable market.
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I have no idea why people have complained about it not being an "intuitive" interface. It's pretty darn simple to use. It's a useful device and an excellent extension of the iPhone.
 
billystlyes said:
Apple should give up on watches and the Mac and just focus on mobile, TV and entertainment. They would be more profitable.
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I disagree. While the watch might not be as successful as the iPhone or iPad, I see no valid reason for them to discontinue it. In the category "smart watches" it seems to be doing extremely well, the category itself appears to have difficulties with wide acceptance (see the well known and very low pebble and android wear sales figures so far) and it doesn't need to be a huge hit to be a success for Apple in its own way. I'm not interested in it but several people around me are enjoying theirs and it's irrelevant to them if 3, 10 or 50 million others own it as well.
 
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ron7624 said:
They are probably folks like me, that is people waiting for the dust to settle and possibly the next iteration. I have not been overly excited about it but do think I will eventually buy one.
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I just returned an Apple Watch that I wore for two weeks. It's a cute watch and I enjoyed wearing it, but I'll probably hold off buying one for another generation or two. I want to see how they advance this concept going forward.

Besides, I have a Subby that's a perfectly good watch already anyway, and I wasn't crazy about yet another device that needed to be charged every night.
 
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oneMadRssn said:
I agree with Tim Cook's comments regarding the upcoming holiday shopping season - that will be the real test of the Apple Watch's success.
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What? The real value/usefulness of a product is gauged during a holiday season where people will buy ANYTHING just to put something under the tree? What Tim means is that Apple will be sure to have plenty of stock at Christmas so that rabid shoppers frantically looking for that last minute gift (unwanted by the recipient), will be able to walk into an Apple store and drop a cool grand on a watch. Since the holiday season is the busiest shopping time, the watch will sell more, and therefore deemed a success.
 
Benjamin Frost said:
I guess we now know what all that sapphire was wanted for: mirrors. The smoke is provided by the forest fires in drought-stricken California.
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Based on repeated statements on how:
a) You expect your Apple stock to plummet 40% this year
b) Apple's products no longer surprise and delight you
c) You disagree with Apple's political stances and have a personal vendetta against Cook
... then if you were really a person of any conviction, you would be selling your Apple stock immediately.

But deep down, you don't believe your own hyperbole. We'll know because you'll continue to post about your concerns as a shareholder the next time the topic comes up.

P.S. That's not smoke from California. That's the London fog which has seems to be impacting your vision.
 
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citysnaps said:
Right. Low expectations. And that's why Apple spent a HUGE amount of money developing the Watch, a new product category, and all the marketing and preparation at the stores to handle sales.

Yes, to sell a product with low expectations...
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Patience Grasshopper. You would make a terrible executive. It's a totally new product category. Yes, they spent a lot of cash and resources to develop it and already have a billion in revenue in one quarter. The life cycle of this product is in its infancy and the product category is not much older.
They haven't mildly tapped the wearable market and Watch OS2 will add functionality, not to mention give developers greater potential to develop killer apps.
The demand will grow!
 
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That's interesting, and I for once glad Tim did not reveal the number for this one. Amazing that people can came out with their own numbers, but what more perplexing is that everyone believe on such fake numbers until it becomes the fake "fact". What a bunch of stupidities :D
 
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62tele said:
Patience Grasshopper. You would make a terrible executive. It's a totally new product category. Yes, they spent a lot of cash and resources to develop it and already have a billion in revenue in one quarter. The life cycle of this product is in its infancy and the product category is not much older.
They haven't mildly tapped the wearable market and Watch OS2 will add functionality, not to mention give developers greater potential to develop killer apps.
The demand will grow!
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Doesn't seem like you'd make a better executive as you appear to not understand the thrust of my post (a response to someone else's claim of low expectations).
 
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