Cupertino tech giant is expected to launch the next-generation Apple Watch Series 7 at the September event, along with iPhone 13, MacBook Pro models, AirPods 3, and other products. But a new report by Nikkie Asia claims that the new complicated design of the new smartwatch has delayed its production.
Equipped with an additional blood pressure monitoring sensor, Apple Watch Series 7 faces production challenges
The design of the upcoming Apple Watch series is said to be “significantly” different from its predecessors. Apple will ship the new smartwatch with a blood pressure measurement sensor which has added more components to be housed in the same size chassis. In addition, it has to meet requirements for water-resistance performance. Therefore, the “all” assemblers are facing similar production challenges in delivering satisfactory production performance “based on the current industrial designs”.
Manufacturers of Apple Watch 7, as the device is expected to be called, began small-scale production last week but encountered critical challenges in reaching satisfactory production performance, multiple people familiar with the situation said.
Three sources said the current disappointing production quality could be attributed to the complexity of design, which is significantly different from that of previous generations of the watch, and the assemblers found issues when putting together electronics modules, components and displays.
In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic is also responsible for disrupting the development process by making it difficult to verify new features and discover issues. Therefore, production is temporarily stopped while Apple and suppliers smooth out wrinkles before heading into mass production. The report states:
“Apple and its suppliers are working around the clock trying to solve the issues, but currently it is hard to tell when the mass production could begin,” one of the people added. Apple previously planned to put Apple Watch 7 into mass production around mid-September, another person said, and the engineering team is working to minimize delays.
Recently, creditable sources reported that the new Apple Watch Series 7 will have larger screen sizes: 41mm and 45mm sizes. The alleged design update marks the smartwatch’s second major change since its launch in 2015; the company enlarged the screen size to 40mm and 44mm from Apple Watch Series 4 onwards.
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