It appears that the year 2015 is heading for the record books, at least in terms of the number of shipments of smartwatch displays. And the Apple Watch, the one and only wearable device produced by Apple, will play a very big part. Well, at least according to new data from research firm IHS.
IHS recently reported that a total of 34 million smartwatch displays will be shipped around the world in 2015. That number is a staggering 250 percent improvement compared to last year's numbers. And the Apple Watch will make up almost half of those global shipments, while the other half divided among the other current smartwatch offerings in the market.
According to Hiroshi Hayase, director of analysis and research at IHS, the boost in smartwatch display shipments is due to the phenomenal popularity of the Apple Watch, which is considered by many to be the first smartwatch, or wearable device for that matter, to attract this much consumer interest.
Many have viewed Apple's smartwatch as the most likely wearable device to galvanize the entire wearables industry, and it appears that the Apple Watch is poised to achieve just that by the end of the year.
Considering that the Apple Watch is just Apple's first attempt at wearable devices, one can say that Apple's branding really goes a long, long way. It does help of course that the smartwatch itself is a pretty impressive device. First introduced in September of last year, the Apple Watch can run apps and receive notifications like no other smartwatch before it. The device is available in three basic models: the entry level Apple Watch Sport (starting at $349), the midrange Apple Watch (starting at $549), and the luxury Apple Watch Edition (starting at $10,000). Other smartwatches have already been released by other mobile manufacturers such as Samsung, Motorola, LG, Huawei, Sony, and Pebble, but none have quite stirred a buzz among mobile users.
IHS, of course, is not the only party predicting the Apple Watch's dominance in the wearables market. Last month, Katy Huberty of global financial services firm Morgan Stanley, predicted that Apple's smartwatch will sell 36 million units in its first year. What is even more amazing about Huberty's forecast is that it was a conservative number, given how the Apple Watch has encountered some supply and production problems in its first few weeks of being launched in stores around the world.
