A new research note from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo on Wednesday, predicts Apple will ship just under 15 million Apple Watch units this fiscal year. Apple’s fiscal year ends in September, so that number wouldn’t include holiday sales for the device.
A new KGI research note predicts that production of the Apple Watch’s Taptic Engine component will begin to improve later this month, but slow demand has led to a downward revision of estimated shipments by 20-30%. The new estimate comes in at 5-6 million units shipped in the third quarter.
Kuo says demand for the Apple Watch seems to be slowing. he notes shipping dates immediately following the device’s debut dropped back to June, but there hasn’t been a substantial delay in shipment times since then, leading him to believe Apple has produced enough units in Q2 to keep up with demand, despite the issues with the Taptic Engine. Kuo says supply issues with the Taptic Engine will start to improve in late May.
Also of of note, Kuo claims as much as 80% of all Apple Watch orders are for the larger 42mm version. He bases this on shipping times for each size.
