TSMC Shares Hit Record High as AI Chip Demand Fuels Strong Q4 Earnings 
Elon Musk Shares Bold Vision for AI, Robots, and Space at Davos 
Apple China Holiday Sale Offers Discounts Up to 1,000 Yuan on Popular Devices 
U.S. Lawmakers Demand Scrutiny of TikTok-ByteDance Deal Amid National Security Concerns 
South Korea Sees Limited Impact From New U.S. Tariffs on Advanced AI Chips 
TikTok Expands AI Age-Detection Technology Across Europe Amid Rising Regulatory Pressure 
Memory Chip Shortage Drives Higher Gadget Prices and Weakens Global Tech Demand 
China Halts Shipments of Nvidia H200 AI Chips, Forcing Suppliers to Pause Production 
OpenAI Launches Stargate Community Plan to Offset Energy Costs and Support Local Power Infrastructure 
Nintendo Stock Jumps as Switch 2 Becomes Best-Selling Console in the U.S. in 2025 
Global DRAM Chip Shortage Puts Automakers Under New Cost and Supply Pressure 
Tesla Plans FSD Subscription Price Hikes as Autonomous Capabilities Advance 
Baidu Shares Surge After Official Launch of Advanced Ernie 5.0 AI Model 
Intel Stock Slides Despite Earnings Beat as Weak Q1 Outlook Raises Concerns 
In a rare development, Apple CEO Tim Cook released a public rebuttal of official numbers provided by the IDC with regards to the performance of the Apple Watch. The IDC figures reflect poorly on the iPhone maker, but Cook says that the figures are misleading. He claims that the smartwatch is actually selling quite well this holiday season.
Sending an email to reporters at Reuters, the Apple CEO said that the numbers only show units shipped instead of units sold. He wrote that the sell-through of the Apple Watch just surpassed previous levels.
"Our data shows that Apple Watch is doing great and looks to be one of the most popular holiday gifts this year," the email reads. "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.”
Moving to rebut the data by IDC is being taken as a knee-jerk reaction from Cook, especially given how serious the implications of the numbers are for Apple. The IDC report essentially placed the sales of the smartwatch at 71 percent lower year over year.
This is more than understandable, however, as the Series 2 units were released near the end of Q3. Basically, customers didn’t want to buy the first Apple Watch when the newer one was coming, The Verge points out.
Despite his claims, however, Cook didn’t provide any figures with regards to what he stresses is a high sell-through performance. By not providing the media with the exact numbers, it’s very difficult to tell whether the Apple Watch really is selling as well as Apple’s CEO is saying. The only side that provided solid data so far is IDC.
