Apple Watch claims half of all smartwatch displays to ship in 2015

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These screens are having a very good year.

34 million smartwatch displays will ship in 2015, and 49 percent of them belong to the Apple Watch.

Thanks to Apple entering the market, smartwatch display shipments are set to increase 250 this year, according to a new study of over 35 suppliers, who expect Apple to be the biggest player in the smartwatch market 

It stands to reason that smartwatch display shipments would be up in a year that includes the launch of a high-profile new wearable like the Apple Watch, but 34 million is a lot of screens regardless of the reason. And it stands to reason that Apple wouldn’t order so many if it wasn’t pretty sure it would sell the devices they end up in. IHS’s data suggest that the increased supply flow indicates increased consumer interest in smartwatches in general.

These numbers line up with other projections like KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s (revised) estimate that Apple will sell 15 million Watches this year. And that’s a lot, especially considering that this could constitute 54.8 percent of the total smartwatch market, according to a report by researcher Strategy Analytics.

As expected, Apple encountered some shipping delays at the Watch’s launch, with April orders not seeing delivery until June or later. Estimates on the online store as of this writing cite a 2-3 week wait for 42mm cases and a 5-7 business day window for the less popular 38mm models.

With Apple preparing to sell Watches in its physical retail locations this month, it’s probably going to need those screens.

Source: IHS

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