According to the latest predictions from the well-connected KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple iWatch may face supply constraints once it launches later this year.
Kuo believes, citing his supply chain checks, that iWatch will be available in limited quantities this year, and will ship only three million units by the end of 2014.
Kuo mentioned in the research note that market is expecting Apple to ship between five to ten million units of the purported iWatch, but due to delayed production, the number will be around three million units by the year end. Apple is reportedly facing difficulties with the iWatch, especially with the sapphire glass cover of the watch, which resulted in a delay of the production.
He also said Apple may face sapphire glass cover bottlenecks, which may cause Apple to use a normal glass cover instead of sapphire. In the same note, he also mentioned TPK to be the supplier of the sapphire glass for use in the purported iWatch.
Apple is rumored to launch the iWatch at a press event in October, which means that the device may see the light of the day ahead of its production date. This could mean that Apple iWatch will hit retail way after its announcement, and possibly suffer the same fate as the Mac Pro — the device saw extensive delays with shipping times ranging from months, and finally settled down to a sane 24-48 hours.
Let’s just take this with a pinch of salt. There’s no official word from Apple about it, but we’ll update you as soon as we get any other information.
Source: AppleInsider
Image Credit Nickolay Lamm
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