Apple Watch Series 2 sees strong demand from upgraders, millennials
According to fresh statistics released Tuesday, a sizable chunk of Apple Watch Series 2 pre-orders went to customers who own the original Apple Watch, while millennials replaced Gen X as the largest buyer demographic.
Drawing findings from a panel of online shoppers who pre-ordered Apple Watch Series 2 from Sept. 9 through Sept. 12, Slice Intelligence reports nearly one-third of customers previously purchased Apple's original model. The figures are important for the fledgling wearable, as brand loyalty often determines whether or not a bleeding edge tech product finds traction from a wider consumer base.
In a shift to Apple Watch's customer demographic, millennials were the largest pre-order group over the four day sample period, accounting for some 39 percent of initial Series 2 purchases. Millennials take over for Gen X buyers, the largest buying group during the pre-order period of the first Apple Watch model last year, the firm says.
Interestingly, while Series 2 pre-order customers were predominantly men, the device saw a 6 percent uptick in women buyers compared to last year's original device. Specifically, women accounted for 26 percent of pre-orders, up from 20 percent with the original Apple Watch.
Echoing a trend set last year, early adopters appear to be gravitating toward larger Series 2 model, with 66.6 percent of buyers opting for the 42mm version instead of 38mm variants.
Diving deeper into Slice's pre-order statistics, 69.8 percent of buyers opted for the sport band configuration, 54.2 percent of whom chose black as their preferred color. Customers looking for woven nylon bands were also partial to black, with 46.2 percent of buyers selecting that particular setup. The penchant for black bands mirrors last year's pre-order cycle.
Apple announced Apple Watch Series 2 at a special event earlier this month. The wearable is aesthetically similar to its predecessor, but contains a raft of internal improvements including a faster dual-core processor, GPS radio, brighter display, larger battery and water resistance down to 50 meters.
Pricing starts at $369 for a 38mm aluminum version and moves up to $1,299 for the new 42mm white ceramic edition.
Drawing findings from a panel of online shoppers who pre-ordered Apple Watch Series 2 from Sept. 9 through Sept. 12, Slice Intelligence reports nearly one-third of customers previously purchased Apple's original model. The figures are important for the fledgling wearable, as brand loyalty often determines whether or not a bleeding edge tech product finds traction from a wider consumer base.
In a shift to Apple Watch's customer demographic, millennials were the largest pre-order group over the four day sample period, accounting for some 39 percent of initial Series 2 purchases. Millennials take over for Gen X buyers, the largest buying group during the pre-order period of the first Apple Watch model last year, the firm says.
Interestingly, while Series 2 pre-order customers were predominantly men, the device saw a 6 percent uptick in women buyers compared to last year's original device. Specifically, women accounted for 26 percent of pre-orders, up from 20 percent with the original Apple Watch.
Echoing a trend set last year, early adopters appear to be gravitating toward larger Series 2 model, with 66.6 percent of buyers opting for the 42mm version instead of 38mm variants.
Diving deeper into Slice's pre-order statistics, 69.8 percent of buyers opted for the sport band configuration, 54.2 percent of whom chose black as their preferred color. Customers looking for woven nylon bands were also partial to black, with 46.2 percent of buyers selecting that particular setup. The penchant for black bands mirrors last year's pre-order cycle.
Apple announced Apple Watch Series 2 at a special event earlier this month. The wearable is aesthetically similar to its predecessor, but contains a raft of internal improvements including a faster dual-core processor, GPS radio, brighter display, larger battery and water resistance down to 50 meters.
Pricing starts at $369 for a 38mm aluminum version and moves up to $1,299 for the new 42mm white ceramic edition.
Comments
The Apple Watch is doing great. Let the clueless crowd keep guessing. I like that Apple is not releasing any figures. I've read that some people and media have already declared the Apple Watch to be a flop. How wrong can a person be?
And before that, these were probably the same stupid fuckers that declared the iPhone to be a flop when it was first released, and then the iPad after that. If their lives depended on their intelligence and their ability to accurately predict anything, they'd all be dead a long time ago. They wouldn't survive for 5 minutes.
The Apple Watch is still in the early stages, it's only on revision 2. How long did it take the iPhone to fully mature, or the iPad? The Apple Watch 2 seems to be a pretty good upgrade.
Apple is on the right track with the Apple Watch, and it's only number 2 in the line.
Imagine what the future holds, unless you're one of those clueless naysayers of course, in which case, you have no imagination, you're constantly wrong, your brain is probably underdeveloped, and you're wrong about the Apple Watch, just like you were wrong about the iPhone, the iPad and everything else that is Apple related. How does it feel to be so stupid and such a loser?
I was waiting for built in GPS to buy one and it's finally here. Can't wait to get one. The rebranding with a focus on fitness is a great move! This will definitely have the "I want one too" effect when your friends see what it's capable of.
Will be top selling Holiday gift of 2016. I'm buying one for myself and my 13 year old nephew one (he wants one).
Series 2 hype has been mostly dead from my observations. Let's hope it sells. I want it to be the new iPod.
- Paying at the student store, linked to some student account.
- Entry to your college dorm (using NFC)
- Alert notification for campus-wide info (e.g., approaching storm, police action, etc.)
Kids don't necessarily want a WATCH, but they may want wrist-mounted convenience.And, as you say, it won't be too long before Apple has a gargantuan share of industry profits too. I feel really quite badly for the watches in the $250 - $2,000 range. I think their days may be numbered.
Not knowing the Apple Watch sales has no doubt caused uncertainty regarding the market to competitors, and that may keep them from investing as heavily.
At the high level, the wearables market could be as large as the smartphone market, if not more. One for every person (but could be multiple, like health bands, ear pieces / headphones, ...), and the same models can be sold globally. A long way to go, as the market is just getting started, but good potential. Very interested to see where Apple takes this over the next 3-5 years.
Apple's AirPods with the W1 chip has a lot of potential. Personally, I'd like to see headphones begin to use biometrics to help the Watch and iPhone gather data more effectively. Right now, it's as simple as an IR sensor to know when it's in or out of your ear (or likely being placed against an object), but in the future it could take your temperature as you exercise (we've had IR ear thermometers for decades), use the accelerometers in each ear piece plus your Watch and/or iPhone to get a better idea of how you run and when you're most exhausted based on balance and stride, and countless other things I can't possibly imagine.
A few months back I was seriously thinking of looking into some water-proof covers for the Apple Watch to take it swimming. I never thought it would be as soon as v2 that Apple would allow swimming with the Watch!
Series 2 is a no-brainer for me, but I also want something different so I'm holding out for the Nike version.
But the smart watch opens up the same window for miniaturization that the PC world experienced through the 80's & 90's. At some point, the capabilities of the smart watch will begin to rival those of the smart phone and be limited only by screen size... That is: you won't be able to do FaceBook or email on a smart watch (not easily or effectively). But, will you want to lug around smart phone just for those?
We started with room sized mainframes which progressed to 40 pound desktops which progressed to 5 pound laptops which progressed to pocket sized smart phones which is progressing to wrist sized smart watches....