Apple Watch is more popular with developers than first iPhone
Tim Cook recently gave an interview to the Chinese language edition of Bloomberg Businessweek, and he noted that developers are more interested in Apple Watch than they were in the original iPhone and iPad.
Developers are working on more than 3,500 apps for the gadgets, he said. That’s well ahead of the 500 apps available for the 2008 edition of the iPhone and the 1,000 for the first iPad in 2010, he added.
That number is rather surprising, considering the fact that pundits predicted failure for Apple Watch. We don’t know yet how many Apple Watch devices Cupertino has sold, since Apple has been quiet on those figures. We do know, however, that Apple has been happy with the response to the first truly new product from the company since the death of cofounder Steve Jobs.
Maybe it shouldn’t be surprising, though, that developers are coding more than 3,500 apps for Apple Watch. The phenomenal success of both the iPhone and iPad are now a historical fact, and there was already growing interest in wearable technology when Apple came on the scene. The International Data Corporation (IDC) recently estimated that 72.1 million wearable devices will be shipped in 2015, a 173.3 percent increase over the 26.4 million units shipped in 2014.
In other words, wearable devices of all colors are exploding in popularity, and developers recognize that. Granted, Apple Watch won’t account for all 72.1 million wearable devices sold in 2015, but it’s safe to assume Cupertino’s smartwatch will make up a good portion of that number. Developers want to make money, and putting out programs for the latest technology is the way to do it.