First batch slated at 40 million units, industry sources say

Nov 14, 2014 09:42 GMT  ·  By

Set to make its triumphant debut in early 2015, the Apple Watch is about to enter production as chip makers are lining up to start churning out the chips needed to power the device.

Industry sources in the Far East cited by DigiTimes say that “Chip suppliers involved in the supply chain of the Apple Watch are gearing up to start production for the upcoming wearable device.”

Orders will reach 30-40 million units, indicating that Apple anticipates high demand for the device. The sources also note that “the Apple Watch uses Apple's custom-designed system-in-package (SiP) chip, which miniaturizes an entire computer architecture onto a single chip,” something that Apple itself has confirmed.

Early 2015 means no earlier than March

On its official web site, Apple has been touting early 2015 as the launch date for the Apple Watch since the device was unveiled in September. It’s not exactly a pinpoint estimate, as you’ll probably agree. That being said, one of the company’s executives recently narrowed down the launch window to spring 2015, which means we shouldn’t expect the product to hit the shelves any sooner than the 1st of March.

Some reports estimated that the device would be ready for launch on Valentine’s Day, and it doesn’t take a genius to realize how many more units Apple would sell with the watch ready before February 14. While nothing is set in stone, we’re inclined to believe the schedule touted by Angela Ahrendts in her memo to employees. The transcript can be found below.

“So, again, we do - you guys were hired because you’re the best people in the world. And you know how to service customers, but we are sprinting a marathon right now, and it’s not going to stop. Right? We’re going into the holidays, we’ll go into Chinese New Year, and then we’ve got a new watch launch coming in the spring. So I just, I really wanted to say, stop for a moment, take a breath.”

“Realize that every customer you touch - and again I know you know this, but you’re really busy - so just every customer that you touch, how do you make sure that they will walk away feeling very different, very positive, than before they walked into that store they interacted with you.”

Starts at $349, ends at an estimated $5,000

The cheapest version of the Apple Watch will reportedly sell for $349 in the U.S. and likely €349 throughout Europe. The middle-tier model with a bigger screen and a stainless steel band will allegedly go for $500 / €500, while the gold-crafted high-end version dubbed Edition is expected to sell in the thousands. The latest estimate being $5,000 / €4,000.

Apple Watch images (12 Images)

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