Apple may have ordered as many as 40 million Apple Watch chips, according to new reports.
DigiTimes has revealed that Apple’s supply chains are nearly ready start production on the Apple Watch components, with a launch date set for early 2015.
Citing chip suppliers involved in Apple’s manufacturing ecosystem, the report read: “Orders for chips for the Apple watch are estimated at 30-40 million units, the sources indicated.”
The Apple Watch’s chips are custom-built SiP – system-in-package – chips, which sees an entire computer architecture fitted onto a single, tiny chip.
The chip is called the ‘S1’, and will come encased in resin for added protection.
Due to the size constraints caused by the small form factor of a smartwatch, Apple can’t just repurpose it’s A-series chips that appear on its smartphone and tablet devices.
Other features landing with the Apple Watch include the new ‘digital crown’, a twistable side-button that smartwatch owners can use to operate the device.
There’s also an improved retina display landing on Apple’s upcoming wearable, capable of discerning finger pressure. This means different screen-poking pressures can translate to different input commands.
There’s also ‘taptic’ haptic feedback, Apple Pay functionality, and a raft of sensors to integrate with Apple Health.
The 40 million shipment figured touted in the report means Apple is clearly expecting huge demand for its flagship wearable.
Despite the smartwatch hype, there’s already an existing smorgasbord of wearables available from other OEMs available for purchase right now, including the Moto 360 and the Sony Smartwatch 3 .
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