With the expected launch date of the Apple Watch drawing closer, the Cupertino-based tech titan has reportedly started placing orders for components of its second-gen wearable device to its supply chain, including Samsung and other foreign OEMs.
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, a Taiwanese tech firm, will manufacture most of the system-on-a-chip production, iDigital Times reported. In addition, STATS ChipPAC and Amkor Technology will divide the remaining orders between them.
In addition, another Taiwanese tech firm Kinsus Interconnect Technology has reportedly secured substrate orders for the Apple Watch 2, which is expected to arrive sometime in the second half this year. According to the report, Samsung Electronics will manufacture the processor, comprising the NAND flash, mobile DRAM and other chips, of the second-gen Apple Watch. It is worth mentioning here that Samsung and Kinsus provided the components for the original Apple Watch, which runs on Apple's patented S1 chip.
Earlier reports hinted that Quanta Computer will continue to be the main component supplier for the Apple Watch 2. According to reports in a section of media outlets, Quanta also started trial production of the Apple Watch 2 in January this year so that the devices could be shipped sometime after Apple's WWDC in June.
Latest rumors suggest that the Cupertino tech titan is likely to unveil the Apple Watch 2 at its ensuring WWDC or during the company's annual iPhone launch event in September, Mac Rumors reported. It is worth noting here that the company announced the original Apple Watch in early September 2014 and it was shipped in late April 2015. It is suggested that the prolonged release cycle may help to circumvent consumer exhaustion.
Meanwhile, Brain White, an Apple analyst, recently hypothesized that the Apple Watch 2 may be 20 percent to 40 percent thinner compared to the original wearable device. Another analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, who has successfully predicted Apple device launches in the past, is of the view that the second-gen Apple Watch is likely go into mass production in the 2016 Q3 and be introduced alongside the purported iPhone 7 in September.
There are rumors that the Apple Watch 2 will feature a FaceTime video camera as well as expanded Wi-Fi capabilities. According to Kuo, Apple Watch 2 will mostly feature improvements under the hood, with minor design changes.
Watch the video on "Apple Watch 2 rumors" below: