2.3 Million Apple Watches Preordered to Date

Although it has initially been claimed that the Apple Watch sold in about 1 million units, now, popular Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo alleged that the famous company might have actually sold over 2.3 million Apple Watches since pre-orders became available last week.

"We estimate production of Apple Watch around 2.3mn units in March-May. Mass production of Apple Watch began in March and will likely reach 2.3mn by end of May. Considering that most consumers who preordered will not get the device until June, we estimate global preorders of over 2.3mn units, with Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition representing a respective order allocation of 85%, 15% and less than 1%," Ming-Chi Kuo allegedly said.

Kuo went on with his estimations and claimed that most likely, once the company manages to match supply with demand, the Apple Watch will sell in about 3 million units a month. If Apple expected this impressive demand or not is something unclear. However, what seems to cause issues for the famous company is its supply chain.

Issues in the supply chain makes it impossible for Apple to deliver the new smartwatch as advertised, on April 24. Already, the company has announced that for the ordered products, shipping will extend until at least June. If Kuo's estimates are right, this means that Apple already is the most popular smartwatches maker in the industry. This is not something unexpected, although it is a huge hit for other players in the smartwatch industry, which already were on the market.

Memo reveals the Apple Watch won't be available in stores this spring

Allegedly, a memo sent to Apple staff by retail chief Angela Ahrendts indicated that the new Apple Watch will not be available for purchases in stores from next Friday, when it should be officially launched, and throughout May. Consequently, customers were advised to make their purchase from online shops, to get the product faster. The memo also went to explain the strategy that Apple has put in place for the sales of the Apple Watch.

"It's important to remember that Apple Watch is not just a new product but an entirely new category for us. There's never been anything quite like it. To deliver the kind of service our customers have come to expect - and that we expect from ourselves - we designed a completely new approach. That's why, for the first time, we are previewing a new product in our stores before it has started shipping," the message said.

Angela Ahrendts also explained that the new strategy actually makes it much easier to purchase the new Apple Watch, as customers will know exactly when and where the device arrives. So, Apple's retail chief only confirmed what has been rumored for days now. The new Apple Watch won't be available in stores starting Apple 24 for walk-in purchases. Apple will just accept online orders and shipping for these orders may extend until the summer.

Moreover, Angela Ahrendts did not provide a timeline on when customers will be able to enter a store and leave home with the new product. Her memo explained the challenges that Apple is facing now that it has released an all-new product.

Preorders for the Apple Watch started on April 10. On April 24, the device was expected to officially go on sale in the US, UK, Australia, Japan, Canada, China, Germany, France and Hong Kong. The Apple Watch is available in three different versions, the Sports Apple Watch, which starts at $349, the Apple Watch, starting at $549 and the Apple Watch Edition, which starts at $10,000. It hasn't been revealed how each of these variants did when it comes to preorders.

Kuo claimed that the Apple Watch will be a success, but its demand will definitely be limited by the fact that this product requires an iOS device, such as an iPhone or iPad, to function. This means that Android users won't be able to enjoy this new product, unless they plan on switching to the iOS. Of course, Apple did not comment on these claims, so it is yet to find out if they will turn out being true. Moreover, in just a week, we will find out exactly how the Apple Watch will go on sale.

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