Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) latest masterpiece and the first entry to the wearable market, the Apple Watch, has received a lot of hype during the three-month course of its existence.
According to sources, though, the gizmo does not fare well in the global market. California-based intelligence service, Slice Intelligence, has unveiled some unprecedented info regarding the smartwatch.
Their research reveals that Apple Watch sales have dropped 90% compared to launch month -April. Slice suggests that Apple more or less sells around twenty thousand units daily, some days only ten thousand. The smartwatch had hit the 1.5 million benchmark during first week of release, which is equal to approximately 200,000 units daily.
The research goes deeper by mentioning that the base-line model of the line-up – the most affordable one – features the biggest sales number. The “Sports” version, as formally named by the company, has a price tag of $349, while the advanced model will set you back $549.
In order to satisfy the needs of its premium clientele and enforce its presence in the Chinese market – the second biggest iPhone buyer -, the Cupertino company released the gold edition, made by 18K gold, retailing for $10,000 in the States. The intelligence company says that only 2,000 units of the particular version have been taken off US shelves.
Slice intelligence can be considered as a rather reliable source, since it does helm market researches for a number of companies listed in Fortune 500. The particular study is based on millions of electronic receipts sent via email directly after purchase.
Albeit the fact that smartwatches constitute a tiny fraction of the consumer electronics market – yet -, it still raises questions regarding Apple’s innovation skills during the post-Jobs era. Bare in mind that the Apple Watch is the first innovation after the death of the legendary co-founder and former CEO. The specific plunge could be a bad omen for the Cupertino giant or it could simply be that due to the particular market’s size sales cannot grow till the second generation.
Sources close to this environment suggest that Wall Street has been struggling to figure out sales growth of the Apple Watch, mainly because the company has yet to unveil performance rates of the device. Following today’s tragedy, publications have been seeking for a comment from Apple, though no response has been given yet.
The incident certainly had an impact on Apple’s shares, since they fall by 0.25% in the last twenty-four hours, as we are writing this report. Moreover, arch rival in the wearables market, Fitbit (NYSE: FIT), is plus 4.88% today.
