Apple Watch may enter mass production earlier than expected

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It's time for a showdown. Photo: Apple
Forget yield problems -- the Apple Watch may go into production one month ahead of forecasts. Photo: Apple

Apple is said to have resolved yield issues with various Apple Watch components, and the device is set to go into mass production in January — one month earlier than many were expecting — according to a new report from Taiwan’s United Daily News.

The news story also claims that Apple has ordered 24 million Apple Watches for 2015, and that supplier Quanta is massively boosting its workforce to accommodate. Quanta has already increased its number of workers from 2,000 to 10,000 — and it will supposedly expand again to 20,000 employees at the height of first year Apple Watch production.

Increasing your workforce by 10x to meet Apple orders could be a risk (particularly since nobody yet knows how successful the Apple Watch will be), be it may also be what is required to keep Cupertino on Quanta’s side. If the Apple Watch is a hit, then being a supplier in on the ground floor would be immensely valuable.

The report additionally notes that Apple originally planned to release the Apple Watch for this holiday season, but that production issues put a stop to this. It is suggested that the first batch of Apple Watches available for purchase will number between 3-5 million units.

The total order size of 24 million units is in line with what UBS analyst Steven Milunovich recently predicted. If Apple achieves this it will be an enormous success — particularly since only 3.3 million fitness trackers were sold in 2013.

Finally, United Daily News calls shenanigans on the unlikely rumor that an iPhone 6s would be arriving early next year, by saying that Apple will most likely stick to its regular schedule of releasing a follow-up phone at the end of 2015. Just like 99% of people thought.

Via: GforGames

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