Apple Watch Supply Chain Rumors Suggest Problems, Solutions
Analyst Timothy Arcuri of Cowen and Company…revealed that Apple is trying to add Foxconn as an assembly partner for the Apple Watch, in an effort to boost yields. …
The centerpiece of the [Apple] Watch is an AMOLED display that is estimated to be far more costly than traditional LCD screens. On his Asia tech trip, Arcuri was led to believe that Samsung will be supplying OLED screens to Apple for the device, signaling yet another major partnership between the two heated rivals.
Previously, it was reported that LG was providing the OLED displays for Apple Watch. Wether Samsung has been asked to pick up production slack from LG in the same way Foxconn is fixing Quanta’s mess remains unclear. I don’t expect these hiccups to delay or limit the wearable’s launch next month, but it is important to understand just how difficult the fabrication and assembly processes for Apple Watch seem to be compared against the rest of the company’s state-of-the-art product families. Making small-scale at large-scale is never easy, and it’s never cheap.
Except, in this case, maybe for us consumers. If nothing else, the apparent complexity of Apple Watch is justification enough for its $349 entry price. And that should make Apple customers very happy.
One thing that might not, however, is this other tidbit gleaned from Arcuri’s report:
Finally, supply chain sources also indicated to Arcuri that a “2.0 version” of the Apple Watch will arrive later this year. The analyst didn’t indicate whether the sources were referring to a software update or entirely new hardware.
Asian suppliers probably aren’t concerned with iOS updates. Their domain is hardware, and that’s what they’re talking about. That said, a full-on hardware refresh just six months after launch wouldn’t make any sense whatsoever for Apple Watch, particularly since it’s a non-subsidized device where “upgrade cycle” is of immediate concern to most potential buyers. Instead, as AppleInsider goes on to suggest, this is probably a reference to the rumor of expanded case materials being offered in time for the holidays.
Who knows, Apple might even make a gold plated version available sooner rather than later.