No Faulty Apple Watches Were Shipped to Customers

Apple identified a Taptic Engine defect affecting the Apple Watch before shipping the device to any customers, according to Re/code. The report, citing people with knowledge of the matter, claims that no faulty Apple Watches reached customers, and reiterates that Apple has shifted the majority of production to Japanese supplier Nidec, which has not encountered the same issue.

“I believe no faulty Apple Watches were shipped to consumers,” said Patrick Moorhead, founder of Moor Insights & Strategy. “I don’t think this is damaging at all.”

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Apple discovered Taptic Engines supplied by AAC Technologies Holdings in Shenzhen, China would break over time, likely contributing to current Apple Watch supply constraints. The Taptic Engine, which creates creates motion in a straight line by moving a small rod, powers the haptic feedback capabilities of the Apple Watch by alerting users about incoming messages or notifications with gentle taps on the wrist.

Apple Watch pre-order deliveries began on April 24 in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and the United Kingdom, although many customers are still waiting to receive their devices. A portion of customers with initial shipping estimates of 4-6 weeks or later have received their Apple Watches sooner than expected, but there remains several orders that have yet to be fulfilled, particularly some Space Gray and Space Black models.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 5

Tag: Taptic Engine

Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

Top Rated Comments

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Jacquesvw

52 months ago

1. That has nothing to do with the current issue.

2. NO product, I repeat NO product, will be perfect, no matter how much testing is done. If you expect that, you need to be living on a different planet. Sheesh!

1: I was responding to someone else's claim that Apple's quality control cannot miss a product fault.

2: I wasn't claiming that there are perfect products, but one would think that the biggest selling point of the Retina iMac, the screen should at least be perfect. Don't make excuses for Apple, I repeat, don't make excuses for Apple!

Rating: 5 Votes

ThunderSkunk

52 months ago

There are no faulty watches.
Only faulty customers.

Rating: 3 Votes

needfx

52 months ago

Patrick said he believed

Rating: 2 Votes

SMIDG3T

52 months ago

This is good news! I am getting mine later today!

Rating: 2 Votes

needfx

52 months ago

Nobody should be surprised. Apple has meticulous QA that always prevents faults like this from reaching consumers. This is another reason why I love Apple. They always put product perfection ahead of shipping x number of units to meet initial demand. Yes there may be shortages for the time being, but the assurance you are getting a world class product should make those delays more palatable.

apparently you've never heard of the you're-holding-it-wrong-gate :D

Rating: 2 Votes

2457282

52 months ago

Let me correct the title -

No Apple Watches Were Shipped to Customers.

At least to my address. :D:D

Rating: 2 Votes

Nightarchaon

52 months ago

This is good to hear.

Anyone whose watch isnt working, its not faulty, your just using it wrong. :rolleyes:

Rating: 2 Votes

gnasher729

52 months ago

Hmm...John Gruber reported in his original Apple Watch review that he had a faulty Taptic Engine.

http://daringfireball.net/linked/2015/04/29/taptic-engine-wsj

"No faulty watches were shipped to customers". Clearly, John Gruber was not a customer.

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Not sure if that is sarcasm... Apple has been notorious for Rev A hardware troubles. Mac mini graphics issues, iMac motherboard problems, Macbook Pro retina display issues, Macbook Pro 2009 SATA interface issues...

That said, if the watch has some benefit to you, this is a palatable story regarding delay. They are taking the time to try and ensure they get this one right.

Other companies change their products so often, they will never ship anything that isn't Rev A.

Rating: 1 Votes

blackcrayon

51 months ago

This is why I don't by Gen. 1 products.

Of course, if Gen 2 is a significant change, it will be "Gen 1" of its particular iteration with potential issues on whatever the revamped hardware or software features are. And if there isn't a significant change, people will cry bloody murder for that as well (and resolve to wait until Gen 3 :) )

Rating: 1 Votes

activerog

51 months ago

They always put product perfection ahead of shipping x number of units to meet initial demand. Yes there may be shortages for the time being, but the assurance you are getting a world class product should make those delays more palatable.

world class product? I'm picking myself up from the floor after falling backwards laughing. Great products, premium price, but what about bothering to test them before boxing them up and shipping them out?

If this watch was a $59.95 cheapie, yeah sure, but I would have expected that paying $579 Australian for a 42mm SG BSB watch would see somebody at the factory end test them before packing and sending them.

Received a faulty Apple watch yesterday, a week prior a friend of mine in Melbourne had exactly the same experience. Anybody who believes Apple has awesome quality control is deluding themselves.

Here's my unboxing of my DOA (Dead on arrival) Apple watch :
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=03zpySlCpIw

Rating: 1 Votes

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