Apple Daily: Apple Watch Sales Slow; Home Sharing in iOS 9; Showtime on Apple TV

There's a new report out concerning the Apple Watch's sales, and, well, it doesn't look so good. In other news, it appears that Apple intends to bring Home Sharing for music back to iOS after all, and a cord-free version of Showtime is now available on Apple TV and iOS.

Apple Watch Sales Momentum Slows Sharply in June

The Apple Watch might have had a strong start, but according to new market research from Slice Intelligence (via MarketWatch), the momentum is slowing down fast. First it saw an understandable decline immediately after launch once all the early adopters had gotten their hands on a device (or at least an order), and then the device maintained a steady stream of around 20,000 sales per day through May. But not long after the beginning of last month, sales started to suffer a precipitous dip.

Now, according to Slice's data, fewer than 10,000 units are being sold on any given day, and a chart from the company suggests that sales are even slipping below the 5,000 mark as of late. It's important to note, however, that Slice's sales figures don't account for the 12 other countries where the Apple Watch is sold apart from the United States, as the company's data is obtained from electronic receipts tracked through the e-mail accounts of participating users in the U.S.

Slice's data also show that the relatively inexpensive Apple Watch Sport accounts for roughly 75 percent of all sales, and that Apple has only sold around 2,000 units of the gold Apple Watch Edition in the U.S. through June. All total, the firm believes that Apple has sold around 2.8 million Apple Watches in the U.S. to date. Even if the Apple Watch does turn out to be a disappointment, though, it's likely that Apple will take it in comparative stride, as the report also notes that stock-research company Trefis claims that the Apple Watch constitutes a mere 4 percent of Apple's total value.

Apple Planning to Revive Home Sharing for Music in iOS 9

We recently reported that Home Sharing for music from the iPhone was pulled ahead of the release of Apple Music, but at the time we noted that Apple's wording about the service being "not currently available" suggested it could make a comeback later on. And that, in fact, appears to be the case. Apple executive Eddy Cue, who's been increasingly vocal on Twitter lately, again took to the microblogging platform yesterday to announce that "We are working on having Home Sharing in iOS 9."

Above: Eddy Cue (AP)

While there's no proof of the following, the current consensus on the matter seems to be that Home Sharing wasn't well-supported by the license holders who were instrumental in making Apple Music a reality, and thus Apple pulled it as a (hopefully) temporary concession in order to get the project off the ground. As noted previously, Home Sharing is still available for video files with iOS 8.4, and Home Sharing for music remains available for both Apple TV and Mac.

Showtime Comes to Apple TV, iOS Without Cable Sub Requirement

The "cord-cutting revolution" heralded by the release of HBO Now continues apace, but at this rate, it might end up costing you more than a traditional cable plan if you buy all the channels. Today Showtime announced that its own standalone service is now available on Apple TV and iOS, and it'll only cost you $11 in comparison to HBO Now's $15. If you just want to try it out, there's even a 30-day trial.

Showtime has had an Apple TV app for years, but like so many earlier apps from traditional cable or satellite networks, you had to have a separate cable subscription tied to it in order to watch anything. Now, however, you can watch popular shows such as Dexter, Homeland, and Ray Donovan without having to worry about the package deal.

You can also get the service through Hulu, provided you pay an additional $9 charge on top of Hulu's base $8 monthly fee. You can find the new channel on Apple TV, or via the app on the iOS App Store.

Follow this article's writer, Leif Johnson, on Twitter.