According to a new report from DigiTimes, via 9to5 Mac, sources in the Apple Watch supply chain are saying that orders continue to rise, with 4.5 million shipments expected in Q4, which would mean total shipments for 2017 would top 15 million units.
And it’s even better news for Apple next year, with those same sources saying that they expect the figure to rise to 20 million units in 2018.
Because Apple doesn’t divulge Apple Watch sales figures, it can be harder than usual for experts to make sales predictions, and there are often conflicting reports. For example, in May, Strategy Analytics said that Apple had overtaken Fitbit to become the world’s top wearables vendor, yet in contrast, just this month, Canalys said that Apple had fallen behind Xiaomi and Fitbit in Q2. It’s possible that was indeed the case, but then it’s also possible that one or other sets of figures were wrong.
However, even given these discrepancies, it’s probably a pretty safe bet that sales of the Apple Watch will increase next year, with the forthcoming Series 3 Apple Watch set to have LTE connectivity. Also, a newly revealed deal with healthcare firm Aetna to provide subsidized Apple Watches to its 23 million customers could help sales.
Source: Apple Watch suppliers say shipments expected to reach 15m this year, 20m next
