Estimate: 2.79M Apple Watch units sold, many with extra bands

A data analytics firm estimates that Apple has sold 2.79 million Apple Watch units as of mid-June, with nearly 20 percent of purchasers also springing for an extra band, Reuters reports. Although Apple itself has not released specifics on how many Apple Watches have been sold, research firm Slice Intelligence has developed estimates based on mining e-mail receipts from a panel of two million people considered to be representative of online shoppers in the U.S. If accurate, the numbers suggest that Apple is making a hefty profit from the sales of spare watch bands, which retail for prices starting at $49 with raw manufacturing costs estimated to be starting at $2.05. The report notes, however, that such estimates do not include packaging and shipping expenses, and in fact “may not capture the full cost of the material Apple uses to make the band.” The data collected by Slice indicates that the black sport band is the most popular choice overall — both with the Apple Watch and as a secondary band — while the $149 Milanese Loop is the most popular option being purchased separately as a second band.