“A new KGI research note predicts that production of the Apple Watch’s Taptic Engine component will begin to improve later this month, but slow demand has led to a downward revision of estimated shipments by 20-30%,” Mike Beasley reports for 9to5Mac. “The new estimate comes in at 5-6 million units shipped in the third quarter.”
“Combining that estimate with the data from last quarter has caused KGI to cut its annual shipment estimate in half,” Beasley reports. “Where the general consensus previously predicted that Apple should ship 20-30 million smartwatches, the firm’s new number comes in at under 15 million.”
Beasley reports, “The note also says that Apple Watch demand seems to be slowing down [and] …that as much as 80% of orders placed are for the larger 42mm version of the Apple Watch, based on shipping times for each size.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: This note features a lot of conclusions being jumped to based on a smattering of specious information. Without knowing how many 42mm vs. 38mm models were made, for example, there’s no way to rate the popularity of Watch sizes based on shipping times. There are also far too many unknowns to arrive at the conclusion that “demand seems to be slowing down.”
Early adopter demand may (or may not) be satisfied, but the masses have yet to see Apple Watch in action in real life. This phase has yet to begin thanks to Apple’s lengthy shipping backlogs. When enough early adopters have their Watches, that is when the sales will really begin to take off.