The debut of Apple Watch Series 7 will be pushed back due to production difficulties, according to an unconfirmed report Tuesday.
A new flat-sided look, and the addition of a blood-pressure monitor and other features, has left Apple scrambling to finalize the smartwatch’s design. Apple allegedly put assembly of the wearable on hold while the company’s engineers try to fix the problems.
Apple Watch Series 7 delays
Prior to this latest info, we expected the new smartwatch as early as September. The production problems supposedly will delay that, with production “temporarily halted,” according to NikkeiAsia.
The publication says multiple insiders leaked details about the production issues: “Three sources said the current disappointing production quality could be attributed to the complexity of design, which is significantly different from that of previous generations of the watch, and the assemblers found issues when putting together electronics modules, components and displays.”
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic also complicates Apple Watch development, NikkeiAsia said. With travel curtailed due to the pandemic, Apple engineers and suppliers face extra challenges as they work to nail down designs and production processes.
There’s lots new in Apple Watch Series 7
The seventh-generation Apple Watch will supposedly add a blood-pressure monitor to the plethora of other features already in the wearable.
And it’s allegedly getting a big redesign, with screen sizes increasing to 41mm and 45mm and the smartwatch’s edges getting flatter. These changes required significant rearranging of the internal components, according to NikkeiAsia’s sources. That’s making assembly a challenge.
“Apple and its suppliers are working around the clock trying to solve the issues, but currently it is hard to tell when the mass production could begin,” an anonymous source told NikkeiAsia.
The unnamed sources also said they can’t predict when Apple Watch Series 7 will go into full production. That raises questions about whether the product can go on sale alongside the iPhone 13, which is rumored to debut in mid-September. Of course, Apple could unveil the wearable early, but delay release until after ironing out production problems.
