Tim Cook’s defense of Apple Watch falls flat

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook on Tuesday tried to punch back against a downbeat report on Apple Watch — but it was unclear whether he landed any meaningful blows.

Cook said Apple Watch is very popular and that “sales growth is off the charts.”

The rosy outlook stands in stark contrast to a report from IDC released 24 hours ago that found that Apple Watch shipments plunged 71 percent in the third quarter, to 1.1 million units.

Cook countered that sales of Apple’s wrist computer set a record during the first week of holiday shopping, and that the current quarter is on track to be the best ever for the Apple Watch, according to Reuters.

Of course, the periods Cook focused on are outside the period included in the IDC report.

Also, Cook didn’t respond when asked for concrete sales figures for the gadget. Critics pounced on his relentlessly vague language when it comes to the Apple Watch.

“Our data shows that Apple Watch is doing great and looks to be one of the most popular holiday gifts this year,” Cook wrote in an email to Reuters.

“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,” Cook wrote.

Critics countered, however, that “sell-through” is merely an indicator of how many watches sold versus the number that were shipped to stores — a metric that says little about how many were actually sold.

Unlike the iPhone, the iPad and Mac computers, the Apple Watch’s numbers have been lumped into an “other products” category in Apple’ s quarterly results since its September 2014 launch.