Rumor: 6 million Apple Watch units to be available on launch day

According to a recent rumor, Apple is readying somewhere between 5 and 6 million Apple Watch units in preparation for the launch of the smartwatch series. The manufacturer is also said to have canceled many of the announced functions.

Mihai Andrici, Published 02/19/2015

Apple Smartwatch

When Apple officially introduced the Apple Watch series back in September 2014, the Cupertino-based company claimed that its first wearable products will revolutionize the emerging smartwatch market by integrating numerous sensors that detect fitness and health data.

According to insider sources quoted by the Wall Street Journal, Apple faced numerous challenges in developing these health monitoring features. Apparently most of the advanced sensor-based features have been cancelled as some proved to be too complex, while others were too unreliable.

After dumping many of the originally planned health tracking features, the manufacturer is said to have shifted the focus of the Apple Watch series. Instead of being regarded as health tracking devices, the Apple wearables are now said to be developed as smartphone companions with much more mundane health sensors such as a pulse rate monitor. Furthermore, sources say that the Apple Watch project is regarded internally as a resource-hungry "black hole".

Despite these setback, the Wall Street Journal also reveals that Apple placed orders for between 5 to 6 million units to its three contract manufacturers from Asia. Half of these are said to be entry-level sport swatch units, while a the mid-range model is said to account for a third of the units available at launch. The luxury Apple watch in 18 carat gold is expected to be available in about 1 million units at launch.