How many Apple Watches need to sell for it to be a success?

[jean15paul]

How many Apple Watches need to sell for it to be a success? I guess core of the question is, how is success defined.

Smartwatches are a new product category and I don't think anyone really know what the potential market is. Apple sold something like 170 million iPhones last year, right? So is that the potential market? I wonder what they are expecting, 10% of that (17 million)? 30% (50 million)?

Is a more reasonable comparison Android Wear and Pebble? I think they both sold in the hundreds-of-thousands last year. Is that enough to be successful? Some analysis have called that success and other failure.

What are your thoughts?

 

[pkcable]

I recall reading somewhere that they were projected to be targeting 5% of iphone owners. I don't believe Apple releases those kind of figures (who does?) but 5% is the number I have heard speculated.

 

[Premium1]

I recall reading somewhere that they were projected to be targeting 5% of iphone owners. I don't believe Apple releases those kind of figures (who does?) but 5% is the number I have heard speculated.

I think a few million would be considered a success. Not in terms of apples normal success, but would be a good start for a gen 1 product.

 

[John Yester]

If someone bought one. Then your good. Better then selling none.

 

[Ipheuria]

Yeah someone should go back and look at the numbers for the first iPhone and iPad. It would be a neat comparison to the first gen Watch but also give us a rough idea of the kind of numbers we're looking at here.

 

[kch50428]

However many Apple sells, the "Android-centric trollers for blog hits" will call it a steaming pile of fail...

 

[Just_Me_D]

It's hard to say because many companies are judged by the same standards as Apple. Although it sold out of its initial supply of  Watches within minutes, CNN and others focused on Apple not having a lot of people inside their stores. Know what I mean?

 

[Bigeric23]

I'm not sure how many units would be considered a success, but no matter what that number is, someone will complain:

"If they would have made it cheaper they could have sold even more."

You know that comment is coming.

 

[kch50428]

You know that comment is coming.

Already been made...

 

[jean15paul]

I'm not sure how many units would be considered a success, but no matter what that number is, someone will complain:

"If they would have made it cheaper they could have sold even more."

You know that comment is coming.

However many Apple sells, the "Android-centric trollers for blog hits" will call it a steaming pile of fail...

Because the internets