Sales of the Apple Watch to consumers set a record during the first week of Christmas shopping, and the current quarter is on track to be the best ever for the product, Apple's chief executive Tim Cook has said.
Tim Cook said the gadget's sell-through - a measure of how many units are sold to consumers, rather than simply stocked on retailers' shelves - reached a new high.
He made his comments in response to an email from Reuters.
They followed a report earlier this week from technology research firm IDC estimating that the tech giant sold 1.1 million units of the Apple Watch during the third quarter of 2016, down 71% from the same time last year.
The comments offer a glimpse of the gadget's performance during the holiday quarter, which is typically Apple's strongest.
"Our data shows that Apple Watch is doing great and looks to be one of the most popular holiday gifts this year," Cook wrote.
"Sales growth is off the charts. In fact, during the first week of holiday shopping, our sell-through of Apple Watch was greater than any week in the product’s history. And as we expected, we’re on track for the best quarter ever for Apple Watch," he said.
Cook did not respond to a request for specific sales figures for the gadget.
Apple has disclosed few details about the performance of the Apple Watch, its first new product released under Cook.
The company has not broken out sales of the gadget in its earnings, instead lumping it into an "other products" category that includes devices such as the iPod and Apple TV.
Strong sales of the Apple Watch are to be expected during the fourth quarter as the gadget is a more natural gift than some of the company's other products such as the iPhone or Mac computer, analysts said.
Apple also lowered the price of the gadget this year, potentially helping the holiday sales comparison, they noted.
Apple is facing mounting pressure to show new sources of growth as sales of the iPhone, the company's lifeblood, begin to level off.
