Interest in Apple Watch Lower than iPod: Analyst

Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves appears to be confident that Apple will meet his Apple Watch sales forecast of 11 million units by September 2015. But after comparing Apple Watch Google search volumes with those for the iPad and iPod, he fears that consumer interest in the device is vanishing. Actually, if you look at the chart, which was obtained by Business Insider, you can see that interest in the Apple Watch is even below an officially “dead” product, the iPod.

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Commenting on the Apple Watch, Hargreaves said, “Our F2016 estimate could be at risk unless new compelling functionality is created. After strong initial demand, follow-on interest in Apple Watch appears mediocre. Our checks at suppliers suggest this may have driven a modest reduction in component order volume through September. While we expect Apple to meet our F2015 estimate of 11 million, we see growing risk to our F2016 estimate of 24 million.” (via The StreetInsider)

The Apple Watch was announced with great fanfare back in September 2014, but the highly anticipated device did not launch until many months later, in April 2015. The initial demand was strong, with the initial supply selling out quickly, and the company had been struggling to meet demand – users complained about long delivery estimates when ordering the device online.

By the end of this week, however, this will have changed: Apple has announced that it will equip its stores with select Apple Watch models, and is already preparing to launch the device in another wave of countries.

While the Google Trend numbers are disappointing, the 11 million units forecast by September 2015 would mean that even its first–generation device would perform well. The analyst, however, doesn’t appear to be confident that Apple would be able to sell 24 million units in fiscal 2016.

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