Daisuke Wakabayashi, writing for The Wall Street Journal:

Apple Inc. sold twice as many Watches as iPhones in each device’s debut year. Yet the smartwatch is dogged by a perception that seems premature given the history of Apple’s most popular devices: disappointment.

This is damning Apple with faint praise.

But reading on:

As the Watch marks its first anniversary on Sunday — two days before Apple’s quarterly earnings announcement — the product’s fate is critical to the company. It is Apple’s first all-new product since the iPad and a test of its ability to innovate under Chief Executive Tim Cook, when sales of iPhones are slowing.

So far, the numbers appear solid. Apple doesn’t disclose sales, but analysts estimate about 12 million Watches were sold in year one. At an estimated average price of $500, that is a $6 billion business — three times the annual revenue of activity tracker Fitbit Inc.

By comparison, Apple sold roughly six million iPhones in its first year. As a new entrant, the Watch accounted for about 61% of global smartwatch sales last year, according to researcher IDC.

To me, no matter how you slice this, the Apple Watch is a remarkable success. A $6 billion business its first year out of the gate. True, there is no Apple Watch success without riding the coattails of the iPhone juggernaut. But that qualifier shouldn’t diminish the Apple Watch’s success. This is a rev one piece of hardware.

The original iPhone was, by today’s standards, clunky, buggy, and underpowered. But it was just the beginning. Same with Apple Watch.

I continue to wear my Apple Watch every day. At a glance, I know the outside temperature, can see my next calendar event, and read emails and instant messages as they arrive, all without pulling my iPhone out of my pocket. All without a hitch. A remarkable achievement for a first generation product.