According to a fresh report, Apple has ordered more than 5 million units of its three Apple Watch models for the initial run, while suppliers are expected to produce these units during this first quarter, ahead of the expected Apple Watch April launch date.

Citing sources "familiar with the matter", The Wall Street Journal has reported that Apple has asked its suppliers in Asia to make a combined five to six million units of its three Apple Watch models.

Half of this entire order is for the entry-level Apple Watch Sport model, while one-third of the shipment is for Apple's mid-range Apple Watch. The high-end model, Apple Watch Edition with 18-karat gold casing, will have a small batch in the first quarter but is expected to reach a production of more than one million units per month in the second quarter.

For now we only know the starting price of the Apple Watch Sport, which is US $349, and Apple has still to announce pricing for other models and the sky is the limit when comes to Apple Watch Edition, although it is expected to be among the most expensive products the company has ever sold.

While five to six million units before the official launch do not sound much, bear in mind that Pebble managed to sell 1 million of devices until the end of the last year and around 720,000 Android Wear based smartwatches were shipped so far, so Apple's 5 to 6 million certainly sound like a big deal.

While smartwatches are certainly the next big thing, it is obvious that the market is waiting for a big push from Apple.



Source: WSJ.com.