“With Apple widely expected to launch a wearable ‘iWatch’ later this year, market watchers have begun to speculate exactly how many wrist-worn devices the company could sell, with one new projection pegging the device with at least 10 percent penetration among iPhone users in the first full year,” Neil Hughes reports for AppleInsider.
“With an estimated active iPhone installed base of 335 million users by the end of 2014, analyst Keith Bachman of BMO Capital Markets believes Apple could sell at least 33.5 million of a so-called ‘iWatch’ in calendar year 2015,” Hughes reports. “That figure, revealed in a note to investors this week obtained by AppleInsider, represents the analyst’s low-end projection.”
“If Apple were to somehow tap in to 15 percent of existing iPhone owners, it would mean sales of 50.3 million ‘iWatch’ units,” Hughes reports. “And if 20 percent of the projected iPhone installed base were to buy, Apple would sell 67 million units in 2015.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
What’s the price point.
The price point for a non-existent product?
Noooooooobody knows.
Making all this speculation absolutely pointless.
Balderdash. I’m looking forward to trying out Apple’s new tech, but I’m a technophile and a sucker for this stuff. Apple’s regular customer will take a look and wait to see if a $300 wrist sensor is potentially worth it to them.
If only because 10% of all iPhone users will buy anything that has an Apple logo on it.
I really wonder how they come up with these numbers?
Apple has been doing this (successfully) as part of their business strategy since Steve Jobs returned to Apple. Apple is VERY good a leveraging their prior successes when launching new products.
First, Apple created iMac to give the fading (but still loyal) base of Mac users something to get excited about. iMac (and those loyal Mac users) saved Apple, and made Apple “cool” again (for new customers).
iPod was first targeted at existing Mac customers, then later expanded to Windows users. This let Apple leverage a “safer” group of potential customers initially who were willing to pay $400+ for a music player.
The iTunes Music Store was instantly successful, because it tied so perfectly into the iPod user experience. Most existing iPod owner (as well as iTunes users without an iPod) wanted to use it to buy new content right away.
iPhone leveraged existing iPod owners (plus Mac and PC iTunes users who did not own an iPod). One of the (three) original selling points was that iPhone is the best iPod ever. Instant hit with customers who carried a mobile phone and an iPod.
iPad leveraged iPhone owners through the App Store. Part of iPad’s instant success was the ability to run apps for iPhone, in addition to new apps made just for iPad. It was also an easy decision for existing iPhone developers to jump onto the new platform.
Compare this “leveraging” practice to how the competition operates. When iPod was released, there was no iTunes Store (or even a version of iTunes for Windows). The iTunes Store was added later to enhance the user experience. Every other “copycat” competitor (such as Microsoft) had to have its music player AND an online music store from DAY ONE. With iPod and iTunes already well-established (and supporting Windows users on an equal basis), why would anyone (except irrational Apple haters) buy a Zune? Microsoft leveraged zero.
When iPhone was released, there was no App Store. The App Store was added during year two of iPhone. By the time the competition had their “fake iPhones,” the expectation was that a smartphone MUST have an app store service, so they had to struggle to create embarrassingly bad app stores BEFORE launching their answer for iPhone. Instead of leveraging past success, Apple’s competition does the opposite; they put themselves at an instant disadvantage.
So, OF COURSE Apple is going to leverage existing iPhone (and iPad) users to make iWatch an instant success. And it will likely be MUCH more than 10%, although even 10% of the existing iPhone owners qualifies as an instant HUGE success. Apple can do this repeatedly, because it plans and executes carefully and deliberately. The competition, in reacting to Apple, plans and executes hastily; they have nothing to leverage.
Someone please flag this post… for awesomeness.
I’ll take two! Just give me a sign!
I’ve worn a watch all my life and the one I have now is all beat up and scratched. I need a new one. Hurry up, Apple.