I did a quick search and didn't come up with anything on this, so I figured it was worth posting. (If I somehow missed a previous thread, I apologize.) Carl Howe has a fascinating blog with his projections for the Apple Watch, along with an explanation of how he got there. Oh, and to top it off, he goes into his beliefs as to Apple's supply chain management for this product. Here's the specific thought experiment that explains his thoughts on the enormity of Apple's task regarding the production of the Apple Watch: It's a really interesting article. Has anyone else given it a read? I think I have a whole new appreciation for just what Apple's trying to accomplish here. It's insane, really. While I wish Apple was able to meet the initial demand for the Watch, we really can't expect that of them. Not with any degree of accuracy. It sucks for us, but ... I'm pretty confident it'll be worth the wait. EDIT: I forgot the link: Apple Watch: An Overnight Multi-Billion Dollar Business
It's not rocket science. Other companies like Samsung, LG, HTC do it all the time... and often with more model versions. Heck, the iPhone 6 factory has 100 production lines and turns out 540,000 iPhones a DAY. And it's a lot more complicated to make. -- So the watch should be comparatively easy. Let's see: Roughly 3 million Watches pre-sold in the first few days, resulting in a six week wait, which means they were figuring: About 3 million / 6 weeks / 7 days a week = ~71,000 a day. That's 3,000 per hour. That's only 60 watches an hour (one a minute) on each of 50 production lines. Not that hard for a China factory with Apple likely paying for any major assembly equipment. -- Perhaps the harder thing is getting enough case parts supplied to the assemblers. There are plenty of small China factories that can stamp out 10,000 polished watch cases a month, but Apple needs a couple of million for the first big month. I bet they've been making and stockpiling them for a while.
Apple with its years of experience, thousands of talented people, and endless resources are able to execute on a project like this nearly effortlessly. While there's bound to be plenty of articles, accolades and such, the bottom line is none of us with a comprehensive knowledge of Apple and its history should be surprised about their success no matter how large.
Apple Watch: An Overnight Billion Business At least after reading this I feel more appreciative and less annoying by the way Apple handle their Watch launch and the long waiting delivery.
There is a big difference between iPhone 6 and Watch: First Timer. Combining that to the following challenges: