Apple Watch Sales On Track To Hit 12M Units?

Could the Black Friday/Cyber Monday retail sales be Apple Watch’s saving grace?

The latest analyst report from Daniel Ives, of banking firm FBR & Co., suggests that Apple Watch sales could double due to a surge in purchases this holiday season, sparking total sales of 12 million units in 2015.

Ives, whose note to investors was cited by Apple Insider, said he believes his previous 6 million unit estimate could be doubled in December alone. While previous reports on Apple Watch sales suggest sales are slow, the discount provided by Best Best, Target and other retailers (up to $100 off in some cases) could give it a much needed boost. While Apple’s iPhone is obviously still its bread and butter product, Apple Watch could prove to be a fruitful investment for the company, Ives noted in his remarks.

Ives said the wearable device market could be a $20 billion industry that Apple is poised to take advantage of.

“The longer-term consumer adoption curve for the Apple Watch remains a major ‘hot button’ question among tech investors, as broad customer demand is yet to be seen, and as Apple enters a major ‘prove me’ period during the holiday season,” Ives wrote in a note to investors.

It’s a bit difficult to break down just how many Apple Watches have actually been sold since Apple bunches its sales into an “other” category, which includes multiple other accessories. The fact that Apple still won’t break down its Apple Watch sales figures is a bit of a puzzle and is something that many suggest portends a not so good story. But Apple CEO Tim Cook, however, has said in past earnings calls that Apple has legitimate business reasons for keeping its watch figures hidden in its books.

Cook said in the company’s second-quarter earnings that sales of the watch exceeded expectations, and said the “Apple Watch sell-through was higher than the comparable launch period of the original iPhone or the original iPad.”

“We’re convinced that the watch is going to be one of the top gifts of the holiday season,” Cook said in that quarter.

And Cook could be correct, at least if Ives’ analysis is correct. He noted that the Apple Watch begins a “massive land grab opportunity,” for Apple to jump into an entirely new category. Cook had noted the same months ago.