Most Apple Watch owners will be giving them as gifts at Christmas, poll finds

Reuters study finds that 5 per cent of people have stopped wearing their Watches

Tim Cook unveils the Apple Watch in September 2014 (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

A majority of Apple Watch owners are planning to give other people the wearable computers for Christmas, according to a new poll.

About 7 per cent of all people in the US are planning to give the Watch as a gift this year, according to the new poll. That could mean that up to 16 million of the Watches are sold — far more than previous estimates had showed.

Among people who have already bought themselves the Watch, 62 per cent intend to get one for somebody else, too.

Apple has been under huge scrutiny since it launched the Watch in April. The device marks the first new category that Apple has entered since the iPad and since Tim Cook took over the company — and so has been seen as a test of whether it can innovate and produce new products beyond the iPhone.

Many have suggested that the Apple Watch’s sales have been low. Apple hasn’t revealed sales numbers since the Watch was released, and has only made suggestions that they are strong.

But if the Reuters poll proves correct, it may be that sales are much higher. Most forecasts expect about 10 million Watches to be sold — but the Reuters survey would seem to contradict that, suggesting that up to 16 million of the wrist-mounted screens will eventually be sold.

Among owners, 91 per cent of users said that they wear the Watch as much or more than they expected, and 63 per cent said they wear it daily. 5 per cent of respondents said that they had stopped wearing it.