APPLE HAS SOLD 2.5 MILLION SMARTWATCHES, BUT DEMAND HAS DIPPED

According to Slice Intelligence, 2.5 million Apple Watches have been ordered, with over half of those placed on the first day. Since then, demand has been much lower, with orders usually remaining under 30,000 per day (about 11 million sales a year). There was a small spike when the first shipments started (and prompted a flurry of reviews and unboxing videos) but generally speaking demand has stayed pretty flat.

Those aren’t disastrous figures for Apple — it took two years to shift the same number of iPods — and it’s worth noting Slice Intelligence’s data is based on a sample of just 14,000 people in the U.S. What’s more, sales will no doubt  pick up further when Apple Watch is available in stores.

 Nevertheless it’s a sign that this is going to be more of a niche device than a runaway success. With Apple selling 61.17million iphones over the last reported quarter, Tim Cook and his team might have been expecting a few more of those buyers to pick up an Apple Watch too.

Estimating just how many Apple Watches are finding a home is a difficult business. Thai analyst firm KGI Securities has lowered its initial prediction  to 15 million units sold in the first year, while Morgan Stanley has optimistically raised its own estimates to 36million. Even Apple won’t give us the full story at its next quarterly results briefing, as Apple Watch sales will be bundled in with iPods, Apple TVs, and other accessories.