KGI: Apple’s new LTE watch accounts for the lion’s share of preorders

Arriving this Friday, Apple’s third-generation watch is seeing “significantly stronger” than expected demand, with the pricier LTE model accounting for the lion’s share of preorders.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in today’s note to clients, which was obtained by AppleInsider, that he estimates that Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) has accounted for between 80 and 90 percent of preorders.

He added that the new Apple Watch Series 3 models will help the wearable device reach some “significant marked shipment growth.” Before Apple’s keynote, KGI forecast the production weighting of the GPS + Cellular version would be 30-40 percent.

The iPhone maker began accepting preorders for its new watch models last Friday.

We conducted a poll on the new Apple devices from Apple’s keynote that iDownloadBlog readers are planning on buying and Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) came in second with about fifteen percent of votes (unsurprisingly, iPhone X was first).

New orders for Apple Watch Series 3 are currently estimated to ship in three to four weeks, with the LTE version scheduled to arrive on October 2, according to the Apple Online Store.

Having LTE connectivity on the new watch is a $70 premium over the Wi-Fi only models.

In another report today, the analyst said that the forthcoming iPhone X has cannibalized some iPhone 8 orders even though the OLED device will be available for preorder from October 27 and won’t arrive before November 3 while iPhone 8 will drop as soon as this Friday.