Apple has Asked its Suppliers to Build Five to Six Million Watch Units in the First Quarter of 2015

[RaduTyrsina]

According to a recent report coming from the Wall Street Journal, it seems that Apple has commissioned its suppliers to build five to six million Watch units in the first quarter of 2015, ahead of its upcoming April launch.

The report says that Taiwan-based Quanta Computer Inc is the main assembler of the Apple Watch and that half of the first-quarter production order will be for the entry-level $349 Apple Watch Sport model.

Half of the first-quarter production order is earmarked for the entry-level Apple Watch Sport model, while the mid-tier Apple Watch is expected to account for one-third of output, one of these people said.

Orders for Apple Watch Edition – the high-end model featuring 18-karat gold casing – are relatively small in the first quarter but Apple plans to start producing more than one million units per month in the second quarter, the person said. Analysts expect demand for the high-end watches to be strong in China where Apple’s sales are booming.

Apple Watch Sport will start at $349. Apple hasn’t announced pricing for the other models, but Apple Watch Edition is expected to be among the most expensive products the company has ever sold, likely surpassing the $4,000 Mac Pro computer.

Apple sets production plans based on its forecast of demand for the new product. But Apple quickly adjusts these plans if sales are different than what it estimated. Suppliers say that Apple adjusts its so-called “plan of record” more often and more quickly than any other consumer-electronics company.

JP Morgan thinks there will be 400 million potential Watch customers by the end of the March quarter, with around 5 percent of compatible iPhone owners thinking of getting one before the end of 2015.

Source: WSJ