Apple Inc. (AAPL) Watch May Not Have the Perceived Impact Based On History: Dan Nathan

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), on announcing record first-quarter earnings, was not letting the fanfare die out quietly, opting to give analysts and investors something to talk about for the next two months. CEO, Tim Cook, finally made the big announcement, stating that the much-awaited Apple Watch will make its debut in April. The announcement has already elicited debate on the amount of unit sales that the Cupertino-based company is poised to make. CNBC’s, Dan Nathan, is not being carried away by the fanfare maintaining the Watch will only have a significant impact on total earnings this year.

The analyst is basing his arguments on the company’s history on device launches that failed to live up to expectations in terms of sales. Some people are already criticizing Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) for considering April early, for the unveiling of the Watch. The company on its part maintains it separates its calendar year into four monthsof early, middle and late for descriptions.

 “If you go back and you look at five years ago in April of 2010 when they introduced the iPad people did not have high expectations. I think they ended up selling maybe 3.5 million units, and I think they did about $3.5 billion in sales in the first quarter. That does not move the needle on a $213 billion revenue estimate for this year,” said Mr. Nathan.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has already aired its belief on the Watch reiterating that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) could ship as much as 30 million units in the first 12 months. Piper Jaffray’s analyst, Gene Munster, on his part, is holding on to 10 million unit’s worth of shipments.

The success of the Watch will come down to the number of iPhone users who would wish to own the wearable depending on its capabilities. Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) still has a lot to do, in the wearable space considering it is entering an industry that already has products making waves in the health and fitness sectors. Apple will look to carry the success of iPhone 6 to the Watch in terms of sales as one of the ways of ensuring it has a massive impact on total revenue.

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