KGI Predictions
KGI Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo has conducted a research predicting the decline of sales for the Apple Watch in 2016. The Apple Watch, which sold close to 10 million units in 3/4th of last year, is expected to do almost 25% worse this time around despite possessing a potential full year of sales as well as the added bonus of the release of Apple Watch 2.
Kuo predicts that the Apple Watch will sell less than 7.5 million units this year due to the watch not having some key features and the lacking marketability for such a product. The very limited battery life and dependency on iPhone are two of the prominent features which make the Apple Watch unappealing. The Apple Watch 2, on the other hand, will enter the market too late to have any noticeable impact on the year’s sales.
Kuo has also speculated about some features of the upcoming Apple Watch. He believes that the Apple Watch 2 will be subject to some performance and spec improvement, as well as seeing some minor form changes, but the community will not get a complete design overhaul until as late as 2017. Kuo lists the stagnant design of the wearable as the main reason for its impending decline in sales.
The KGI Securities research, however; is contrary to the one by Apple analyst Brian White, published last week. The less credible Brian White predicts that the Apple Watch 2 will launch in as few as two months in addition to having a considerably different design to its predecessor. This new design would be substantially thinner than the current Apple Watch, but such a launch seems unlikely considering the short time frame available.
In any case, the Apple Watch 2 is supposed to a have a deluge of features which were lacking in the original. These features include, but are not limited to: improved Wi-Fi functionality, new model tiers, and a Facetime video camera. There is also talk of more effective materials being used in the body of the wearable in the near future.