Apple started taking pre-orders for its first smartwatch on April 10th. CEO Tim Cook that orders for the Apple Watch have been “great,” but wouldn’t talk numbers. It was suggested in a report that as many as one million orders have been placed for the smartwatch in the nine countries its being sold in currently. Analysts now expect that Apple will ramp up production of the Apple Watch significantly in order to meet rising demand.
There have also been many reports indicating that perhaps manufacturing issues are affecting Apple Watch yields, and thus increasing the risk of a greater supply-demand gap.
Even though Apple has a tradition of talking numbers after the weekend pre-order opening for a new product, today is Monday and that announcement was expected, but Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster believes this might not happen due to supply issues.
Shipping estimates for some Apple Watch models have already slipped well into June, while some models are now showing estimates of up to four weeks.
Those who weren’t able to place a pre-order will probably find it hard to get their hands on one when the Apple Watch is released on April 24th. They can hit eBay though where Apple Watch units are already being sold for thousands of dollars.
Analysts believe that the company will actually be able to sell between 2.3 million and 4 million Apple Watch units in the quarter ending June 2015.
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