Just in case you thought demand for the Apple Watch was diminishing – based on the report issued by well-connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo – here is another report, signed by Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, which states exactly the opposite: Demand is not dropping, but is up and growing. The note to investors was sent out just hours after Kuo’s yesterday and shared today by Fortune’s Philip-Elmer DeWitt.
Betting on Apple Watch sales performance is a tough job, so let’s face the ugly truth: Analysts have the toughest job in the world, as they need to predict how many iPhones and Apple Watch units Apple will sell this year or the fiscal quarter we are in (where is that sarcasm emoticon?).
After analyzing the data flowing in through the AlphaWise survey, Huberty concluded that consumer demand for the Apple Watch has grown stronger. She points to three surveys from December, March and May. In December, only 5.6% of iPhone owners said they would definitely buy an Apple Watch, and that dropped to 4.9% in March only to rise 60% to 17.3% in May 2015.
In other words, 17.3% of iPhone owners said they would definitely buy the Apple wearable, and another 7% said they probably would.
As a result, Huberty raised her 12-month Apple Watch sales forecast to 36 million (up 6 million) being confident in the survey, which shows only “decided” iPhone owners.
