Apple Watch Rumor Indicates Production To Begin In January With Up To 5 Million Units

Mass production of the Apple Watch may begin in January, if the latest supply chain rumors can be believed. Apple and its supply vendor Quanta Computer have reportedly solved yield issues with components of the new wearable device, according to Taiwan’s United Daily News.

The first production run is estimated to yield 3 million to 5 million units of the Apple Watch. And Quanta has been preparing for the demand by ramping up its work force in a production plant for the watch from 2,000 to 10,000 employees this year. The company may hire additional workers to bring its workforce up to 20,000, as Apple is said to expect 24 million Apple Watches shipped through 2015.

This mass production date echoes previous reports that point to a similar timeframe. With production expected to begin soon, the Apple Watch’s street date is still up in the air outside of a vague “early 2015” window announced by Apple in September. While some rumors have pointed to a Feb. 14 public release for the Apple Watch, a leaked transcript from a speech given by Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts indicates that it may launch “in the spring.”

Analysts are expecting Apple to sell anywhere from 10 million to 30 million Apple Watches in 2015, or 10 percent of Apple’s user base with compatible iPhones, according to a research note from Morgan Stanley in November.

In comparison, the iPad sold 14.8 million units in 2010, which blew past analyst estimates of 1.1 million to 7 million, according to All Things D.

While the Apple Watch has yet to be officially released in stores, the company hasn’t been shy about showing it off at a number of public events, including a Parisian boutique to coincide with Paris Fashion Week.

Quanta’s revenue fell 17.85 percent to 80.8 billion Taiwan dollars ($2.59 billion) compared to the same period ending in November, according to Reuters.