Last Friday, on its first day of availability, the Apple Watch was pre-ordered by an estimated 957,000 people in the US alone. Unsurprisingly, most customers plumped for the cheaper Sport model, with the Black Sport Band selling best of the many available bands.
Thanks to Slice Intelligence, we have a ton of first-day sales data to sink our teeth into. It’s US data only for the moment – sales for the other eight countries getting early access to the watch isn’t available yet. The sales data focuses on the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Sport – ignoring the wallet-busting solid gold Apple Watch Edition.
Here are a few of the highlights.
Almost 1 million US pre-orders
In the first 24 hours of availability almost a million pre-orders were made. That number will have increased substantially since, but the eagerness at launch meant that Apple’s first batch of stock sold out fast. Pre-orders are still available online but the delivery estimates have been pushed back considerably.
Sport model preferred
Almost two thirds of customers (62% to be exact) went for the less expensive Sport model, which is no great surprise. It seems many people are reluctant to pay out more than necessary for unproven, first generation technology – especially as all versions have identical guts, with no hardware improvement for the extra money.
Larger casing proves popular
71% of customers – regardless of which edition – opted for the larger 42mm casing, as opposed to the slightly cheaper 38mm version. The $50 difference in price didn’t seem to deter too many people from picking the larger screen size.
Space Gray massively outsells Space Black
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Apple’s ever-popular ‘Space Gray’ coloring won out here, with 63% of Sport buyers choosing the aluminum model in that color and the rest taking the Silver variant. Meanwhile just 8% of steel Apple Watch customers chose ‘Space Black’, preferring the stainless steel finish.
Battle of the Bands
Sports Bands lead the way here, with many purchasing the cheaper strap to accompany the more expensive casing. As shown below, the Black Sport Band was overall the most popular choice, with the more refined Milanese Loop and Link Bracelet in second and third respectively. The more expensive bands and the colored sports bands barely even make a dent in the overall sales figures.
All this data analysis means two things. Firstly, these watches are flying off the shelves and if you haven’t already pre-ordered you’re going to be in for a bit of a wait. Secondly, it looks like everybody’s going to be rocking the 42mm Space Gray Apple Watch Sport with Black Sport Band this Summer.
If you want to stand out in a tech crowd, might we suggest an unprecedented Space Black and Green Sport Band combo?