The iPad may be more popular than ever among young people, but according to one analyst that same level of excitement doesn’t carry over to the forthcoming Apple Watch.
In a research note to clients, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster describes reaction to the Apple Watch among teens as “tepid,” despite the fact that Apple remains an incredibly popular brand.
According to Munster, interest in the Apple Watch actually fell over the past year — starting out at 17% interest from teens in spring, and lowering to 16% just prior to Apple’s September 9 unveiling of its wearables device.
“[S]peculation has ramped significantly around an Apple Watch since the Spring and we would have expected to see at least a small uptick in interest from teens in the watch,” he wrote. “We feel that this data point supports our conservative view of the Apple Watch for its first year.”
Munster predicts that Apple will sell 10 million units during this period — a far cry from the 50 million+ Apple reportedly expects to sell, which would make Apple Watch the top-selling iOS device of all time in terms of its debut sales.
Comparing the Apple Watch with other Apple devices, Munster’s fall survey claims that 67% of teens own an iPhone, which is an increase on the 61% who owned one in spring. 73% claim they will buy an iPhone as their next handset. 66% of tablet-owning teens meanwhile own an iPad, which is the same percentage as it was in spring. 60% expecting to buy a tablet over the next six months claim to plan on buying an iPad Air or mini.
Munster’s research was carried out among 7,200 U.S. teenagers, asked whether they would be interested in buying an Apple Watch for $350.
Of course, it’s not really a fair comparison between existing devices and one that teens will have only heard about or seen pictures of. Since so few teenagers wear watches, it makes sense that only a fraction would be ready to pick up an Apple Watch on the day of release. Still, it reinforces the fact that Apple will need to educate consumers (and particularly younger ones) on why an Apple Watch is so necessary.
Given that Apple Watch is Tim Cook’s baby, being his first new product category while Apple CEO, there’s plenty of pressure for it to be a big hit — with teens and everyone else.
Title :
It’s so September 2014: Teen interest in Apple Watch remains ‘tepid’
Description : The iPad may be more popular than ever among young people, but according to one analyst that same level of excitement doesn’t carry over to ...
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