Apple Watch Projected to Sell 1M on Launch Weekend​

Apple is set to hit its next millionth-device mark, one analyst says. And that could all be in just one weekend.

In a research note published Tuesday (April 1), Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster predicted that Apple Watch sales could total 1 million units in the first weekend of release, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The hotly-anticipated wearable is scheduled to be released on April 24, but preorders will be accepted beginning April 10 — a factor that WSJ notes plays heavily into Munster’s rather lofty prediction. The analyst, relays the publication, expects that 300,000 Apple Watches will be sold during the initial 24-hour window immediately following their release to market.

Beyond the prediction of 1 million units sold during the weekend beginning April 24, Munster estimates that Apple will sell 8 million Apple Watches over the course of 2015 (which WSJ noted would represent about 2 percent of Apple’s 2015 revenue). Comparatively, Wall Street’s expectations are a bit loftier — with an expectation of 14 million devices sold in 2015.

Munster additionally predicts that by 2017, Apple Watch sales could reach 40 million to 50 million units.

Big sales predictions aside, Apple Insider notes that it is unknown at this time if Apple will be able to produce its namesake watch at enough of a quantity to stay on pace with demand — at least initially. Munster, for his part, predicts that stock-availability issues will at the very least limit the potential for unit sales by third-party resellers.

The Apple Watch may not turn out to be a record-breaking product for Apple, but it certainly wouldn’t be the first time Apple’s consumers have rushed to get their hands on a hot, new product.