Apple is currently searching for an additional supplier of next year's rumored Apple Watch 2, according to a new report from supply chain sources (via DigiTimes). The company is speaking with Inventec, Wistron and Foxconn Electronics to join Quanta Computer in the manufacturing of the next generation of the Apple Watch. The report cites a "weaker than expected" profit return for Quanta in regards to the first generation Apple Watch, which is causing a few of the targeted manufacturers to voice concern about supporting the long-term investment in the future device.
Quanta has invested heavily in equipment for Apple Watch's manufacturing, but its profit return from the device has been weaker than expected. This is a concern for the ODMs that have been approached as a secondary supply partner, the paper added.
Also mentioned in the report is Apple's ordering of 4 million Apple Watch units for the fourth quarter of 2015, slightly down from the original 6 million planned in preparation for the holiday season since demand is "not as strong as expected." Still, the company expects sales for the wearable device to surpass 10 million units by the end of the year, before leading into the rumored launch period of the Apple Watch 2 sometime in the second quarter of 2016.
Today's news comes after Quanta Computer's chairman Barry Lam was reported to have commented on the impending manufacturing process of the Apple Watch 2, giving the device a launch window sometime late in Q2 2016 and higher volume shipments beginning in Q3. Little is known about the second generation Apple Watch, besides a few rumors that pointed to the possibility of a thinner device, integrated FaceTime camera, and a growing independence from the iPhone.
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Second point: with the prices of the watches and an estimated margin of 40-50% I am wondering what is going on at the manufacture that is causing them not to turn over a significant margin? either Apple has another one of those deals where the manufacture was never going to make money or the manufacturer is doing something wrong.
Thinner=less gold=less valuable.
They have started every keynote speech for the past years with boasting exactly how many million units they've sold of a certain product. With the Apple Watch they don't. I can understand why this raises concerns.