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Supply-chain report claims Apple on track for 10M Apple Watch sales as it seeks an additional supplier

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The variously-reliable Digitimes reports supply-chain sources as saying that Apple is likely to ship more than 10M Apple Watches by the end of the year, noting that the company is currently seeking a second supplier.

Apple has placed orders for four million Apple Watches for the fourth quarter, targeting mainly demand from the year-end holidays. Sales of Apple Watch are expected to surpass 10 million units in 2015 […]

Apple is to seek another manufacturer aside from Quanta Computer, according to a Chinese-language Apple Daily report … 

Apple Watches are currently all made by Quanta Computer, but Apple has reportedly approached Inventec, Wistron and Foxconn Electronics about the possibility of one of them acting as a second supplier. The piece claims that the companies may be reluctant after Quanta reportedly made weaker than expected profits from the contract.

Quanta was recently cited as the source for an earlier report claiming that the Apple Watch 2 will be shipped around the second or third quarter of next year.

Our own sources back in the summer suggested that the next-generation Watch may see a FaceTime camera, made more capable with on-board Wi-Fi and additional premium-priced models.

Apple has consistently declined to reveal sales numbers for the Apple Watch, with analysts essentially guessing wildly.

Photo: watchreport.com

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Comments

  1. PhilBoogie - 8 years ago

    This is an outrage! We have an Apple Store employee without an Apple Watch! An outrage I tell ya!

    • nathanllarsen - 8 years ago

      I’m pretty sure this photo was taken after the watches were available to look at/try on in store, but not yet shipped, as it appears no one in the photo is wearing an Apple Watch.

  2. Milorad Ivović - 8 years ago

    I think it’s a fairly safe prediction that Apple won’t stick to their current watch sales strategy for Watch2. How they’ll change it up, I don’t know, but if I were them I’d sell all watches with a white or black sport band depending on watch finish, and then sell all other bands separately. This would drastically slash the SKUs and prevent STUPID issues like 50 watches out back, but none with the pre-packaged band you happen to want.

    Some rumours are suggesting the watch lug socket will remain the same. That rules out a larger watch face sadly, but it would seem to be the best idea. Watch needs an S for Speed version and Apple needs to take developers to school on native apps, because even the native WatchOS2 apps take FOREVER to load or sync their little nuggets of data.

  3. rogifan - 8 years ago

    I can’t wait for rumor sites to stop reporting on “supply chain” noise. When have these rumors ever been right?

  4. vkd108 - 8 years ago

    What a beautiful photo of present-day Apple employees; generally slightly above their optimum weight, both sexes tattooed, drastic haircuts, beards and stubble – symbols of their culture and fashion tastes.

    • 89p13 - 8 years ago

      Apple likes to be viewed as hip and young – with a price for the middle to upper echelon money makers.

    • Brandon Stiefel - 8 years ago

      All I got to say is, if the girl on the right side of that picture sees this story, I’d like her phone number :) lol

  5. Atlas (@Metascover) - 8 years ago

    If Apple keeps on like this they are on track to sell almost 15 million in the first year, which was the upper estimate of the most optimistic pundits.
    Failure my ass.

  6. What is funny is that no person in the photo has an Watch on…

  7. lkrupp215 - 8 years ago

    But the Watch is a dud, a failure, maybe even an Epic Fail. Nobody wants it. Nobody wears a watch anymore. I read this on the Internet so it must be true.

    Bottom line? Don’t believe the naysayers, ever. They are very vocal, very confident, very arrogant, very judgmental, quick to denigrate but they are also almost always wrong. Laugh at the naysayers and critics. They are not worth listening to.

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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