It has perhaps started to appear that after more than a year in retail, the sales of the first-generation Apple Watch have finally started to fall flat as anticipation for the next version builds up. It is highly accepted that the Watch 2 will be unveiled alongside the new MacBook Pros at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 13th.
According to a report posted by Fortune, an ITG Investment Research analyst Matthew Goodman predicts that the sales of the Watch were down 40 percent in its second fiscal quarter, i.e., the first quarter of 2016 compared to late 2015 when they were in the “high-four-millions”.
The number of watches sold also could’ve dropped to 3.1 million units, though, that figure is still impressive given the age of the Watch. As a means to perhaps boost the sales one last time, Apple has also recently dropped the price of the base model by $50, a move which Goodman predicts doubled the Watch’s sales by twice, before falling again a week later.
That is still enough to give Apple a reasonable margin over its rivals, with market share of more than 52 percent, crucially against long-standing rivals such as Samsung and Google’s other Android Wear makers.
The next version of the Apple Watch is now said to come with features like a front-facing camera, cellular GPS, a two-day battery life and nylon bands which will be available in seven colors. It is also likely going to have a wireless chipset and a new ARM A32 processor, apart from the design which is said to be 20-40 percent as thin as before.
If these features contribute as much to the experience as they hope they will, Apple could get even further ahead in terms of share in the wearables market.
Via Fortune
