Apple Watch shipments have reportedly been cut in half
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Last we
heard, Apple had placed a large Apple Watch order ahead of its April release.
That showed confidence in its new product, and meant if you wanted to partake
in Apple’s smartwatch future, you’d have no problem finding a unit. A fresh
report out of Taiwan, however, claims Apple has actually cut shipments in half,
suggesting the company’s upcoming wearable will be harder to find than we
initially thought.
But it’s not
because Apple isn’t confident its wearable will be popular. Instead, sources
within Apple’s supply chain claim that the Watch’s display is to blame. Apple
originally planned on manufacturing between 2.5 and 3 million units every
month, but due to manufacturing issues with its display, Apple has instead
lowered expectations to 1.25-1.5 million units.
Out of the
whole of last year, only 750,000 Android Wear devices shipped, while Pebble
just recently celebrated its 1 millionth smartwatch sold. Apple is forecasting
its device beyond both of those figures, and believes its fans will be quick to
adopt the wearable. With a starting price of $349, Apple is already pricing
itself above the competition, so I’ll be very curious to see how the device
performs over its first weekend of availability.
Will there
be lines? Will they sell out? Apple is giving customers every opportunity to
try the Apple Watch out ahead of the April 24 release, giving consumers plenty
of time to make up their minds before it goes on sale.
