New details about the Apple Watch’s launch in April reveal that the consumer tech giant’s Chinese suppliers have been told to cater for an initial launch of 6m units at the most.
Sources close to The Wall Street Journal have informed the newspaper that the production of between 5m and 6m watches will be split among its three different models: the Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Sport and the Apple Watch Edition.
The entry-level Apple Watch Sport is expected to account for more than half of the total production followed by the mid-priced Apple Watch accounting for a third of production with the plush 18-carat gold Apple Watch Edition to be produced in the smallest amount, but still accounting for about 1m devices.
So far, the only price confirmed for any of the devices is for the Apple Watch Sport, at US$349. This begs the question of how expensive the Apple Watch Edition will be, particularly since most estimates expect it to be the company’s most expensive product ever, potentially in the five-figure price range.
The buildup to the watches’ launch has known no bounds, with some of the latest speculation not shining a particularly positive light on the devices’ battery life, which has been pegged at just 2.5 hours in heavy use.
However, Apple has already been working to make sure the infrastructure is in place for the watches to work with other Apple devices, with an iPhone companion app already in development.