Apple is reportedly experiencing manufacturing problems that are affecting the production of the Apple Watch.
According to the report, the problem has caused Apple to slash its production target by around 50 percent, Mac Rumors has learned.
News about the manufacturing issue was reported by the Taiwanese site Economic Daily News based on sources who claimed to have knowledge of the Apple's production process. However, the Cupertino-based company has yet to release an official statement to clarify the information released by the news site.
Based on the insiders' reports, the problem is rooted in the display panels used for the Apple Watch.
For these screens, Apple turned to the lightweight and flexible plastic OLED panels made out of polyethylene terepthalate instead of glass substrate. LG is the main manufacturer of these panels while the Taiwanese firm Quanta modifies them for the Apple Watch.
However, LG is having a hard time producing OLED panels because they are more complicated to make compared to typical display screens. In addition, Quanta, which is more experienced making laptop display screens, is not used to working with small devices like the Apple Watch.
Due to these problems, the Economic Daily News claims that Apple has decided to lower its production quota. Previously, the company was targeting to ship 2.5 to 3 million smartwatches a month after its public debut. However, that figure has now dropped to 1.25 to 1.5 million units.
As a possible solution, Apple has reportedly drafted the Taiwanese manufacturing company Foxconn to assist in the production of the Apple Watch.
Despite the claims from supply chain insiders, tech news site T3 mentioned that these rumors may not be true since Apple has not yet officially confirmed how many smartwatches it is planning to make each month.
The Apple Watch is set to debut on April 24. Consumers can start pre-ordering Apple's latest device on March 10.
