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Apple Watch in Short Supply Due to Taptic Engine Bottlenecks
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He may have had a pre-production model. They got their watches a month before the first wave did.
Sorry mods if this doesn't technically contribute to the discussion, but this ^ is so awesome! 😀
Rogifan
macrumors Penryn
True. It's possible his defective watch was not related to this issue. If Apple knows no watches with this defect shipped they should say so.
kdarling
Contributor
First, think about how phones used to vibrate. They used a tiny electric motor rotating an eccentric mass, just like a clothes washing machine spinning an off-balance load. The frequency (rate of rotation) could change, but it was difficult to control the amplitude.
A linear actuator is also a magnetic motor, but instead of rotating an eccentric mass, it oscillates a mass back and forth. Here, I've made an animated GIF of the torn-apart insides of the actual Apple Taptic Engine for you. (Note that the spring on the right would be held tight against a right hand wall that's missing here.)
Of course, it normally vibrates back and forth much faster than that 🙂. Because it's a mass attached to a spring on each side, it has a natural resonant frequency where it works the best, which is usually about 175 Hz for haptic actuators.
But while the frequency can't be changed, the amplitude (how far it swings back and forth... like the volume of an audio waveform) can, which is considered an advantage for creating various haptic feedback sensations.
(This is partly why Samsung switched over to linear actuators back in 2012 starting with the Galaxy S3. Apple finally switched from eccentric mass to linear actuators with the iPhone 6.)
Btw, Apple had a patent on a "tapping" version a while back, which probably applies here as well. The idea was that with a high amplitude applied in one direction, the mass was purposely allowed to hit one side, not just run back and forth suspended in the middle.
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jm001
macrumors 6502a
They did figure it out. They're diverting their supply order to the Japanese firm. That company (whomever they are) is trying to increase production to accommodate the increased demand. Give it TIME. (sorry had to 😛)
Glideslope
macrumors G3
Nice.
Class action to be filed by some Lawyer in California by the end of May.
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More than "a few."
Class action to be filed by some Lawyer in California by the end of May.
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More than "a few."
Honestly I haven't seen anyone "crying" about having to wait perhaps I'm looking in the wrong places?
Aluminum213
macrumors 68040
lol, take a look at the Apple Watch sub forum and the 100 threads on waiting for shipments and all the complaining about X person ordering after Y person and getting their order in first
RogerWilco
macrumors 6502a
Thanks for the graphic. When I look at the guts of the Taptic Engine, I don't see a precision mechanical device designed to last for a decade or more. In fact it looks similar to the underside of a 1960s HO slot car. While the exterior of Apple's watch is finished to the nth degree, the internals are oddly crude.
That's because whoever generated that picture bent and tore their way into the metal casing. It looks pretty good to me if you just look at the undamaged parts.
This makes perfect sense. Someone who has nothing but apple products is going to say "I can't get an apple watch, so I will sell my iphone and buy and android phone to get one of the android wear devices so I can have it NOW!".
No. People with an iPhone that want a watch will click buy even though it is 4-6 week wait and then complain about it endlessly and wonder why apple didn't make more product.
Now if you meant they will spend their $400-$700 elsewhere then that is also wrong as for most people that amount of money isn't an impulse purchase.
Back to my original point. If apple had ordered lets say 2 million of these taptic thingys, 1 mil from each supplier. But cancel 1 million of them from the defective group, they should have 1 million extra bands they can ship. But they don't. So to me this is why this story makes no sense.
mightyjabba
macrumors 68000
Class action to be filed by some Lawyer in California by the end of May.
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More than "a few."
These class action lawyers are such scammers! I remember one for the iPhone with the antenna gate issue (iphone 4 or 5 I don't remember any more) which I joined and I never heard back from the firm after signing up. Usually the lawyers make a ton of money while you and me get $2 each. Bunch of thieves just trying to enrich themselves...
-Mike
I wonder how much money Macrumors is making by pushing everyone a Iwatch thrue their troat
This is starting to look more and more like the official sales channel of Apple.
Exactly and why they don't mass produce stuff and just hang onto stock. Instead they fulfill orders as they come in and are able to fix issues on the fly which I think is a great way to do it.
-Mike
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They just make money on the advertisements.
-Mike
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That's the attitude!
-Mike
kdarling
Contributor
Apple marketing led people to visualize unicorn-like smooth perfection:
While in real life, the Taptic Engine looks, as you said, more like a simple, inexpensive, thin metal, linear motor, with ventilation holes. Which is, after all, exactly what it is.
To me, the Sport's bracket for the Digital Crown is also a bit cruder looking than expected.
But as you said, the outside is nicely done, and that's what matters to most people. I think Apple has moved on from the "make the backside of the drawer look just as nice" era of Steve Jobs.
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Glideslope
macrumors G3
Yup. The Emperor has no clothes anymore, and the QC of this product speaks louder than any "FORM."
I've said it plenty of times, Tim Cook is a bean counter. Don't expect anything spectacular out of Apple, under him. Even in his latter years, Jobs was losing sight but I'm sure he had a lot on his mind. I don't fault him at all but Cook... I do.
You create the single smallest, most expensive, Apple product ever and you make it cheap on the inside? All parts should have been made in Japan! If Japan is a source, it should be the only bleeping source. Samsung or LG should be used as much as possible too, Hell, even Taiwan has better quality than China (yes, I consider them separate countries).
The awe inspiring days of Apple are gone, done, dead and buried. Now they just take in cash and copy whatever Google does. And they can't even get that right. No more iPhone revolutions. Apple made it their cash cow and for what. So they can hoard money?
March 12, 2015:
You create the single smallest, most expensive, Apple product ever and you make it cheap on the inside? All parts should have been made in Japan! If Japan is a source, it should be the only bleeping source. Samsung or LG should be used as much as possible too, Hell, even Taiwan has better quality than China (yes, I consider them separate countries).
The awe inspiring days of Apple are gone, done, dead and buried. Now they just take in cash and copy whatever Google does. And they can't even get that right. No more iPhone revolutions. Apple made it their cash cow and for what. So they can hoard money?
March 12, 2015:
I remember reading reports that the crown attaching bracket inside a stainless steel Apple Watch is beefier (nicer) that the bracket inside the sport model. Perhaps the stainless steel's taptic engine is prettier on the outside too? 🙂
Edit: Yep, the crown bracket is much more substantial in the stainless steel model:
But, the taptic engine looks the same. Not anything like Apple's initial photos of the taptic engine.
Mark
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mightyjabba
macrumors 68000
It's not as though Apple sourcing parts from different companies/countries is a new thing. And I'm pretty sure the reason they went with two sources was to prepare for exactly this kind of situation. If you have a single supplier and there's a defect, you are totally screwed.
Ah, I just saw that bands were still listed there. I thought you meant they had been completely removed as an option.