UPDATED: Based on manufacturing capacity and shipping dates, KGI Securities estimates that Apple Watch preorders were in excess of 2.3 million. The company is reported to have a decent track of similar predictions.
According to market research firm Slice Intelligence, almost 1 million people in the US preordered the Apple Watch during the first 24 hours it was on sale. As anyone who tried to order one knows, Apple sold out of launch inventory for most models within 10 minutes of orders opening up. There is debate about whether that is reflective of demand or extreme lack of inventory. If Slice’s numbers are at all accurate, demand could have been the issue, with the average customer ordering 1.3 watches. That would result in 1.25 million watches being sold in the US alone. The preorder numbers should be even higher with orders simultaneously opening in 8 other major markets, including China, Australia, Japan, and the UK. To put this data in perspective, Android Wear sold 720,000 units across all models in 2014 and Pebble’s record breaking Pebble Time Kickstarter sold 96,000 units. Before any of this is taken too seriously, it should be noted that Slice’s numbers must be viewed as an extremely rough estimate. Slice Intelligence is an opt-in service that scans your email to see what you purchase and then extrapolates sales information. I would consider the sample data tainted to some degree because I have no idea who would sign up for something this intrusive (but 2 million people have). Despite the questionable methodology, it is likely the best information we will glean; Apple has already announced it has no plans to break out sales of the Apple Watch in financial reports.
