Industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo – who has a decent track record on Apple-related industry predictions – says market expectations for the Apple’s much-anticipated, yet unannounced “iWatch” may be grossly overestimated. He expects only 3 million of the wearable devices to make it to retail shelves this year.
In a note to investors, a copy of which was obtained by AppleInsider, Kuo of KGI Securities said he believes the market is expecting that Apple will ship between 5 million and 10 million “iWatch” units before the end of 2014. But he now expects that issues will push production of the device will be pushed back from September to the second half of November, resulting in fewer units available.
The shorter period for production has led Kuo to drop his expected units from 5 million to 3 million.
Kuo also expects issues with production of the expected sapphire glass covers for the iWatch, and expects at least half of the iWatch units to ship with glass covers instead of sapphire.
Thursday’s note is just the latest in a series of reports and rumors saying the “iWatch” has experienced a number of issues in development and production. Kuo himself said in July that production of the device wouldn’t begin until the fourth quarter of 2014, with distribution taking place late in the quarter.
