In brief: The Apple Watch Series 7 will get a reveal later this month, but early manufacturing issues put the shipment date under question until today. Apple seems to have solved them just in time to start mass production next week, but some models may still arrive a bit late or in limited quantities at first.
Last month, Apple ran into production issues with the upcoming Apple Watch Series 7. According to Bloomberg and Nikkei Asia, the Cupertino company decided to halt manufacturing until a solution was found for the low yield and reliability issues related to the wearable’s revamped design.
Initially this led many to speculate that Apple would only keep the announcement date in place while pushing the shipping date to next month. This would allow the company ample time to fix the problems that appeared during the first trial production runs.
However, it appears that overcoming those issues was easier than expected. According to renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple has ironed out the display-related problems that were bottlenecking the assembly of the Apple Watch Series 7 and will begin mass manufacturing next week.
We now also know more about the specifics of the issue the company encountered. Kuo says this new display panel ditches the old cable design for a contact design that is achieved using a low injection pressure overmolding (LIPO) process. This required coordination with suppliers like LG Display, Jabil, and Young Poong, itself a contributor to the delays.
The Apple Series 7 is expected to be announced later this month and features a flat-edged design that brings it more in line with the current iPhone and iPad aesthetic.
In related news, Ford has apparently poached the head of Apple’s secretive car project, which left an open spot for one of the company’s most ambitious efforts in recent years. The seat will be taken by Apple Watch executive and former Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch.
Masthead credit: Martin Hajek