AppleInsider Staff
Although Apple has yet to release official Apple Watch sales numbers beyond being "thrilled" about its launch, research firm Slice Intelligence says the company is raking in big profits from Apple-made band accessories, as can be expected.
Analyzing mail receipts from two million people, Slice found more than 20,000 purchased an Apple Watch, Reuters reports. Extrapolating beyond the sample pool results in an estimated 2.79 million units since the device launched in April.
Of those customers who purchased Watch, 17 percent picked up more than one band.
According to Slice, Apple's black Sport Band was the most popular model, both for aftermarket sales and as configured with device. The Milanese loop came in second, but comparative metrics were not provided. The report seems woefully incomplete, however, as it failed to detail how many extra bands are being purchased or offer a comprehensive breakdown of Apple Watch sales by model.
Reuters cites an IHS report that concluded Apple pays about $2.05 to manufacture a $49 Sport Band, though Apple CEO Tim Cook has gone on record as saying build cost estimates are usually wildly inaccurate.
The publication also cites sources as saying Apple will not take in revenue from third-party band manufacturers, but fails to mention a "Made for Apple Watch" licensing program expected to launch based on design guidelines posted by Apple in May.
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63 Comments
The Guesstimators are far off even when they have better metrics than these idiots....
Well I got my sport watch a week or so ago, and I have already bought two more sport bands!
I'm guessing that number will be considered a huge failure for Apple and the cries for the removal of CEO Tim Cook will quickly start. I was under the impression the Wall Street geniuses and tech pundits felt Apple should have sold this many AppleWatches the first weekend. This will be considered an abysmally slow start and critics will say that Apple has lost its way. More numerical fodder to drive Apple's share price down even further. Since outright sales numbers are the only thing that matters to Wall Street this number definitely doesn't look good, no matter what the profit margins are. I would honestly think Apple is doing quite well to keep its numbers in the black, but Wall Street only shows red. I'm hoping this number came about due to restrained supply and not lack of demand. The pundits will quickly turn this into "No one is interested in AppleWatches and they would rather have new iPods." No Apple love to be found.
Odo that figure would be almost three times the number of smartwatches sold previously-Eva!
To me that number seems way too low, I expect Apple shifted that many in opening weekend pre-orders alone. By now I would imagine they're into double digit millions in terms of sales. Don't forget this is a guesstimate from one source and only accounting for the US.