KGI: Apple Watch Sales Will Drop 25% Year-Over-Year, ‘S’-Like Refresh

According to a KGI Investment note (via 9to5Mac), Apple Watch shipments are said to fall 25% from the 10.6M sales made in 2015. The lower sales number could be even more shocking in reality because it’ll be comparing the 8 months from last year to the full 12 months in 2016.

The company has two explanations for this. One, it believes the smartwatch market is still a developing one and hasn’t matured into something like the iPhone with the mobile phone market. To take this a step further, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes the Apple Watch falls short.

Kuo says apps on the Watch aren’t that great. There simply isn’t that ‘killer’ app to make the Watch truly amazing. Also, he notes that the battery life and heavy reliance on the iPhone to function is a major setback.

KGI expects the Apple Watch to enter mass production in the third quarter of this year. This means Apple Watch will more than likely be launching alongside iPhone 7. However, the Apple Watch will more than likely be getting an ‘S’ refresh this year, with Apple’s focus shifted towards refining the internals, rather than a physical design change.