Since it was unveiled in September, the Apple Watch has been the subject of an excessive amount of speculation. Perhaps the most speculated topic of them all has been the question of the Apple Watch’s possible success or potential lack thereof. The watch has been available for pre-order for a week now, but Apple has been close-mouthed about initial sales numbers; therefore, we have to rely on projections from third-parties.

Almost immediately after pre-orders opened, stock of certain Apple Watch models started to run out and estimated shipping dates slipped from April 24 to as late as June. But we still had no clear idea of how many watches Apple was selling.

Slice Intelligence was first to put a number on pre-order sales when it published a report on the weekend indicating that Apple had sold nearly 1 million Apple Watches in the U.S. on the first day. That still left the remaining eight countries where the Apple Watch went on sale to speculate about.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who, notes MacRumors, has a reliable track record when it comes to Apple, said in a note to investors yesterday that estimated global pre-orders for Apple Watch has topped 2.3 million units.

Kuo estimated that Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition account for 85 percent, 15 percent and less than one percent of pre-orders, respectively.

According Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, interest in the Apple Watch among teens is as low as 11 percent based on data from a recent survey. Teens who do intend to buy an Apple Watch say style and design are the two biggest attractions. Fitness features, which Apple bills as the watch’s key differentiator, is a deciding factor for less than half of teens who intend to buy the watch.

The results of a Reuters/Ipsos poll published yesterday show that six percent of adults in the U.S. intend to buy an Apple Watch. Six percent, based on 2014 U.S. Census projections, equates to 15 million Apple Watches sold, notes Reuters.

In a survey of 1,000 people conducted by Goldman Sachs the day after pre-orders opened, 11 percent of iPhones users indicated they were “very likely” to buy an Apple Watch in 2015.

Last month, Strategy Analytics predicted Apple would sell 15 million smartwatches in 2015 and claim 55 percent of the smartwatch market in its first outing.

It will be some time before we have actual numbers from Apple; however, analyst estimates have been very consistent so far.

Even at 2.3 million units sold, Apple has already overtaken market leader Samsung, which sold around 1.2 million units out of an estimated total of 6.8 million smartwatches sold worldwide in 2014.

photo credit: Apple Watch via photopin (license)