
UBS released a new survey recently showing that the Apple Watch demand is growing ahead of the rumored launch date of early 2015. It was predicted that approximately 24 million units would be sold, with a gross profit of $3.4 billion in the first couple of months. Apparently 4,000 people were asked to take the survey and 10% said they would ‘very likely’ purchase a smartwatch. According to MacRumors,
Figure 10 indicates that 10% of respondents (401 out of 4,000) are very likely and 17% (682 out of 4,000) somewhat likely to buy a smartwatch in the next 12 months. That is a three-fold increase vis-à-vis the 386 respondents claiming to already own a smartwatch and a four-fold increase if we assume that around one-third of the currently owned smartwatches are actually fitness bands.
Given that about two-thirds of Apple's profit is generated by the iPhone, the company has to be concerned about the longer-term threat of replacement technology, whether it be a leap in handset technology or loss of key functions to wearables. With a sophisticated user interface and third-party apps coming on, Apple may be readying for the time when the Apple Watch encroaches on the smartphone market.
Source: UBS via MacRumors
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