Apple isn't saying how many Apple Watches have been sold—or at least shipped—so far, but Canalys analyst Daniel Matte thinks he's figured it out: 7 million. If he's right, Apple has jumped past all other smartwatch makers combined.
Apple Watch shipments may have hit 7 million units already
The company's smartwatch sales leave Samsung and Pebble in the dust, and sets a high bar for other watch makers planning on getting into the market. Mr. Matte told investors, "After experiencing significant supply chain constraints early on, Apple managed to overcome its production struggles with the Apple Watch and is building momentum going into [the holiday shopping season]."
As Apple adds more countries for Apple Watch sales, those shipments are increasing, too.
Mr. Matte is tossing around some impressive numbers, but they need to be tempered with a little more information to put them in perspective. First, he's talking about watches shipped, not watches sold. Assuming demand is high enough, those could be close to the same, but we can't say for sure since demand isn't outstripping supply any more.
Second, Apple hasn't given us any hints as to how many watches it shipped or sold. So far, all we really know is that Apple Watch sales are exceeding the company's expectations. That doesn't do much to help narrow down exactly how many have been sold.
Analyst estimates are all over the board with some putting the number at a couple million while others are saying 6 million. With Mr. Matte tossing around his 7 million figure, it's pretty clear analysts don't really know how many watches Apple is moving.
What they all do agree on is that the number is in the millions and not thousands, which still puts Apple Watch figures well above the competition.
[Thanks to The Register for the heads up]