Apple Watch becomes hottest item of the season
If you're trying to get your hands on the Apple Watch, you're not the only one.
Apple says that initial demand for the watch is expected to blow past available supplies. What's more, there are now questions as to whether the watch will even be available for mass distribution by the original anticipated April 24 roll out date.
There has been no shortage of bullish commentary associated with Apple's entry into the wearables market. According to analysts at Strategy Analytics, Apple will ship around 15 million units globally in 2015. It says that Apple will garner more than half of global marketshare for smartwatches this year.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley have also been more bullish on wearables overall, thanks in large part to the positive reception for the Apple Watch. A consumer survey that Morgan Stanley conducted in early March showed that many more Americans are using wearable devices, and that one-third of respondents plan on purchasing one in the future.
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The prevailing view among industry analysts and product experts is that the Apple Watch will not only be a hit among consumers but it will also lift the tide for the entire wearables industry, possibly allowing other competitors to benefit from the rising tide. However, that doesn't mean there aren't hurdles to overcome. One concern is converting current wearable users to Apple's offering. They may already be using products such as a Fitbit, a Nike Fuelband or a Jawbone Up band. How many wearables users plan to use more than one device at a time?
Next, pricing will be key. Many of the other products on the market are priced significantly below the lowest end Apple offering of $349. While premium pricing hasn't hindered Apple in the past, there aren't many consumers that consider a smartwatch as critical to their daily lives as they do a smartphone. Will consumers pay up for a premium, discretionary product that may not be used to its fullest potential.
And then, there's the increasing competition that will inevitably come from other companies. How much of a lead can Apple build before a slew of other products compete for market share?
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As robust as all the predictions are, investors are still laser-focused on Apple's bread and butter: the iPhone. According to the company, it sold a record 74.5 million iPhones in the final quarter of 2014, and some estimates have around two-thirds of the company's total revenues tied to it.
So, as the wave of consumer interest in the Apple Watch reveals itself in the coming months, many will pay less attention to it, and stay trained on iPhone sales momentum. Then again, in order to use the Apple Watch fully, you'll need at least an iPhone 5 or newer version. Whether Apple Watch adoption can help drive iPhone sales remains to be seen.