iWatch sales could be driven to enormous highs by the existing pool of iDevice owners investing in what will in many respects be something of an add-on accessory.
Apple may not have yet announced the existence of the iWatch, but this isn’t stopping the industry’s most prominent analysts looking deep into their crystal balls. Once again making her voice heard this week is one Katy Huberty of Morgan Stanley fame, having increased her price target for Apple due in part to loft expectations for the company’s first ever wearable.
According to Huberty, an iWatch with a price of approximately $300 could lead to first-year sales of 30 million units. This success would in large be attributed to the ‘halo effect’ which refers to existing iPhone and iPad owners being considerably more likely than others to invest in the firm’s Smartwatch.
One of the key drivers behind the success of the iWatch could be the distinct lack of true competition around at the time of its release. To date, not a single Smartwatch has succeeding in hitting home with consumers in such a way as to sell in convincing numbers – the best attempts by both Samsung and Sony have fallen at the first hurdle. And while the Moto 360 and various Android Wear devices are likely to do far better, the damage to this particular end of the Smartwatch segment may already have been done.
Apple on the other hand has something of a clean sheet, which means to hit it out of the park with a genuinely desirable iWatch the first time around would be to kick-start a serious success story and perhaps reignite the segment as a whole.
No official information has yet been revealed as to when the device will make its debut, though as something of a peripheral for other iDevices it is largely expected to arrive alongside the iPhone 6 in September.
