Study: Apple Watch price drop goosed sales 250%, iPhone SE popular among switchers

Apple's decision to slash Apple Watch pricing paid off in a big way, as average daily sales over the last month jumped 250 percent sequentially, according to new metrics from Slice Intelligence. The firm also looked at iPhone SE and iPad Pro ahead of Apple's earnings call on Tuesday.

The research firm's Apple Watch numbers offer insight into Apple's recent decision to cut the wearable's price of entry by $50, bringing 38- and 42-millimeter Sport models down to $299 and $349, respectively. Slice's statistics account for the last month of sales, excluding March 21, the day Apple cut Watch pricing.

In a related finding, Apple's new woven nylon bands have performed well since their initial release last month, accounting for 60 percent of first-party strap accessory sales. Interestingly, overall additional band sales decreased slightly in the weeks following Apple's Watch price cut. Extra band sales among buyers who purchased the accessory now stand at 1.3 bands, down from 1.6 bands in mid-March.

As for iPhone SE, Slice found sales of the stripped-down handset pale in comparison to 2014's iPhone 6 launch, results expected from a non-flagship refresh. Specifically, iPhone SE generated 4 percent of the sales iPhone 6 saw during its first month of availability.

Broken down by demographic, 15 percent of iPhone SE buyers upgraded from a non-Apple smartphone, while 54 percent didn't purchase a phone in the past two years, up from 49 percent for other iPhone models. The latter statistic is important to Apple's growth strategy, which finds the $399 SE positioned as an entry-level handset to the iPhone 6 and flagship iPhone 6s.

Finally, interest in Apple's 9.7-inch iPad Pro is mounting, with first month sales figures now at 55 percent of those generated by the 12.9-inch iPad Pro over the same period, up from 37 percent one week after launch.