Data Show Solid Debut for Apple’s New Watch

 

Apple Inc. sold more watches in their first quarter of availability than it did iPads or iPhones.

Research firm IDC Thursday said Apple shipped 3.6 million Apple Watch units in the second quarter, after it began shipping on April 24.

The numbers are among the first credible indicators of Watch sales. Apple hasn’t provided its own figures, opting to keep its numbers secret to avoid tipping off competitors.

IDC said Apple’s sales placed it second among sellers of wearable devices behind Fitbit Inc. The research firm said Fitbit shipped 4.4 million units during the second quarter, although IDC distinguished between the Apple Watch and basic wearables like Fitbit that don’t run third-party apps.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment on the IDC numbers.
The IDC figures suggest the Watch has gotten off to a better start than the iPad or iPhone. Apple launched the iPad on April 3, 2010, and sold 3.27 million units in that first quarter. The iPhone went on sale in June 2007 as the quarter was wrapping up and sold 270,000 units. In the following three months, Apple sold 1.12 million iPhones.

Apple, which typically unveils new iPhones in the fall, on Thursday sent out invitations to a Sept. 9 event in San Francisco.
The Watch has battled negative publicity and lukewarm reviews since it appeared in the spring. No models were available at Apple retail stores until mid-June. 

In late July, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said Watch sales had surpassed Apple’s own projections, but didn’t say what those were.
A new version of Watch software is coming out in the fall. It is expected to address the sluggish performance of non-Apple apps. In the current version, all third-party Watch apps run on the iPhone and beam data to the watch, causing a lag in performance.

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