A Q4 price reduction, software improvements and the launch of native Apple Watch apps will help Apple capture 68 percent of the smartwatch market worldwide by year-end, said a report from market research firm Tractica. Despite competition from Android Wear and Samsung’s Tizen, Apple Watch has been the “galvanizing force” in the early days of the smartwatch, and Tractica predicts 16.7 million Apple Watch shipments out of a total market of 24.4 million shipments in 2015. For Apple Watch early adopters, watch notifications are likely to become more useful and contextual, said Aditya Kaul, research director, and Apple Pay will continue to gain momentum as it evolves into an “indispensable app for many users.” Kaul cited Apple’s efforts in the China market where it has been “devoting a significant amount of energy” in marketing and retail. A second-generation Apple Watch will likely debut in early 2016, he said.
Symantec fears ransomware could soon make an “evolutionary jump” to infect wearables, the Internet security company said in a Thursday blog post. Ransomware “has emerged as one of the most troublesome malware categories of our time,” it said. “The threat is known for locking computers or encrypting files to trick users into handing over their money.” Ransomware is a global threat, and “with the increasing spread of connected devices,” such as smartwatches and IoT products, “ransomware may be on the cusp of another evolutionary jump forward,” it said. Symantec research has found “it would not be difficult for current-generation ransomware to make the leap from mobile phones to wearable devices such as smartwatches,” it said. “So far, we have not seen any ransomware in the wild specifically designed to target smartwatches but this situation could easily change.”
ABI Research changed course on its Apple Watch forecast, now estimating Apple sold 2.3 million watches in Q2, it said Thursday. The update follows Apple's recent earnings webcast (see 1507220052), where it tucked Watch figures into its Other Products category, concealing actual sales numbers for the device. Citing “widely differing” estimates for Apple Watch sales, ABI said market reports estimating as many as 4 million units were shipped -- “suggesting inventories in excess of 1.5 million” -- seem “excessive.” ABI is scaling back its forecast of 14.89 million units shipping in 2015 and will publish the downgrade “shortly,” it said.
Best Buy will begin selling the Apple Watch in select stores Aug. 7, the retailer said Monday. Best Buy will be the first national retailer other than Apple Stores to carry the Apple Watch, it said. The device will trickle out to some 100 Best Buy stores and the e-commerce site Aug. 7 and to another 200 stores in time for the holiday season, it said. Customers will be able to view, try and buy 16 Apple Watch models in 38mm and 42mm sizes, said Best Buy, which will also carry 50 Watch accessories including bands, screen shields, stands and chargers. The retailer won’t be carrying the flagship Apple Watch Edition models, which start at $10,000. Best Buy operates 1,049 U.S. stores.
Apple’s “obfuscating” the sales figures for the Apple Watch on its earnings call last week (see 1507220052) sent the wrong message, said Juniper Research in a note Friday estimating Apple has sold between 2 and 2.5 million watches since the April launch. By not announcing sales figures, Apple gave the appearance of cloaking “disappointing sales, which is the message investors seemingly took away from the earnings call, with shares falling by 7 percent despite a 35 percent [year-over-year] increase in iPhone sales," Juniper said. The research firm based the range on the variance in pricing of different Watch models and on comparisons with other product launches that Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri cited on the earnings call. Maestri said the Watch has sold more than the first iPhone or the iPad in a comparable period, which Juniper pegged at 87 days, and the first iPad sold 2 million units in 60 days, it said. “Given the above, we can assume there have been more than 2 million Watch sales so far,” said Juniper, but how many more depends on how much revenue shifted from Apple TV, Beats Electronics, iPod and accessories to the Watch -- all part of the Other Products category. Other Products was on a $200 million year-on-year decline before the Watch launch, Maestri said. Sales between 2 million and 2.5 million would make the Apple Watch the most successful smartwatch launch to date, said Juniper, “with no other launches coming close in a comparable time period.” Juniper also said there’s no other smartwatch on the market that can ship comparable volume to that of Apple Watch. The Moto360 comes closest, said Juniper, “but even that failed to sell more than 1 million in the first 9 months,” it said. “Displaying the success of the Watch in stark figures would have allayed investor concerns and given Apple more credibility in a new space where it is the clear leader.,” it said. An Apple spokesman told us he couldn't comment on Apple Watch sales numbers beyond what executives said on the earnings call.