21m iWatch for Roll Out, Patent Hints on Weightlifting Tracker – Report
UBS analyst Steven Milunovich estimates for Apple to roll out 21 million units of iWatch before the holiday season.
"We are more confident that Apple will be introducing the iWatch before the holiday season following WWDC's introduction of HealthKit, recent healthcare hirings, the acquisition of LuxVue Technology, and positive comments from Eddy Cue at the Re/Code Conference," Milunovich wrote in a note to investors on Monday.
If this estimate is realised, it would increase Apple's revenue to $6.5 billion, comparing side by side to the company's projected fiscal 2015 and another 411 billion to projected fiscal 2016.
The iWatch roll out could also provide 30 to 40 basis points dilutive to the company's total margin as possible product margins could reach 25 per cent - given that iWatch will be sold at an average price of $300, Milunovich predicted.
Milunovich sees that iWatch will follow iPad's dramatic start. During its first year in the market, 19.5 million units of iPad were sold, increasing to 47.6 million units on its second year.
"We expect iWatch sales to roughly track iPad unit sales - similar penetration rates would mean higher sales. iWatch might do better because the customer base is larger than when iPad launched and the ASP might be less. On the other hand, iWatch is the first product to be worn, which might not appeal to all users," Milunovich wrote.
UBS has now a price target of $100 for Apple stock, following the company's 7-for-1 stock split.
Meanwhile, Apple was granted a patent for a weightlifting tracking system installed with a separate sensor that will transmit metrics to a remote display that could probably be the iWatch, AppleInsider reports.
Apple was granted U.S. Patent no. 8, 749, 380 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent was for a "shoe wear-outsensor, body-bar sensing system, unitless activity assessment and associated methods.
The recent patent follows multiple patents telling an over-all bionetwork of health-related patents.
Essentially, the patent is for a method through which a sensor automatically connects itself to a weightlifting bar. As it connects, it counts and displays repetitions. But what was unique to Apple's patent is that the system can be read by a watch - probably the iWatch.