Apple’s annual wearable-tech sales exceed $5bn

Apple signaled that combined revenues from its wearable products, including its Watch and new wireless headphones, have exceeded $5bn over the last 12 months – the first time it has indicated the size of its newest product category.

Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, told analysts in Tuesday’s earnings call that encompassing Apple Watch, AirPods and Beats headphones, “our revenue from wearable products in the last four quarters was the size of a Fortune 500 company”.

In the Fortune 500, discount retailer Burlington Stores was listed at number 500 by revenues, with $5.6bn in sales for its most recent fiscal year, according to regulatory filings. That suggests Apple’s wearable tech sales were at least as large.

Until now, Apple has been reluctant to disclose precise sales of its wearables business, which is lumped into its “Other products” category along with the declining iPod and various accessories. Overall revenues in the March quarter from this division grew 31 per cent to $2.9bn.

In an interview with the FT, Apple’s finance chief Luca Maestri said that both Beats and Apple Watch had record sales for a March quarter. “The Watch did incredibly well,” he said, with sales nearly doubling year-over-year.

“Together they are becoming a very meaningful business,” Mr Maestri said of Apple’s wearable devices.

Mr Cook told analysts that demand for Apple’s wireless AirPods, which were released late last year, “significantly exceeds supply”, with its website indicating wait times of six to eight weeks for online orders. A recent survey by analyst group Creative Strategies found that AirPods had a customer satisfaction rating of 98 per cent, higher than the iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch at the time of their launch.