Apple Watch Series 4 Expected to Gain Second Manufacturer Following 'Much Better Than Expected' Demand

Wednesday September 26, 2018 4:56 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Taiwanese manufacturer Compal Electronics will begin mass production of Apple Watch Series 4 models in November, according to industry sources cited by supply chain-focused publication DigiTimes.

apple watch series 4 trio
Compal will share orders with fellow Taiwanese manufacturer Quanta Computer, which has reportedly reached its maximum capacity for Apple Watch Series 4 production following "much better than expected demand" for the latest models, according to Apple analyst extraordinaire Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo also said Compal will be added as a second supplier of Apple Watch Series 4 models, which entails final assembly of the wearable.

Kuo believes Apple Watch shipments from suppliers to Apple will fall between 18 million and 19.5 million units in 2018. Apple does not disclose Apple Watch sales, grouping the device under its broad "Other Products" category in its earnings reports, alongside the Apple TV, AirPods, HomePod, and so forth.

Apple Watch is the world's most popular smartwatch by many metrics, including market share and revenue. In fact, Apple says the Apple Watch is the world's most popular watch of any kind, having surpassed Rolex.

Many models of the Apple Watch Series 4 ordered on Apple.com today are estimated to be delivered in late October in the United States, lending credence to strong demand, limited supply, or some combination of the two. With a second supplier coming on board in November, availability should improve.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11

Tag: DigiTimes

Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

Popular Stories

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by Joe Rossignol

Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...

• 148 comments

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by Joe Rossignol

Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by Juli Clover

In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...

• 154 comments

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol

While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...

• 37 comments

iPhone 18 Pro Max Rumored to Deliver Next-Level Battery Life

Friday February 6, 2026 5:14 am PST by Hartley Charlton

The iPhone 18 Pro Max will feature a bigger battery for continued best-in-class battery life, according to a known Weibo leaker. Citing supply chain information, the Weibo user known as "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will have a battery capacity of 5,100 to 5,200 mAh. Combined with the efficiency improvements of the A20 Pro chip, made with TSMC's 2nm process, the...

• 107 comments

Top Rated Comments

RodThePlod

96 months ago

Apple seem to have hit the ball out of the park with Series 4!

Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)

IUBall22

96 months ago

What first seemed like an unnecessary impulse purchase has now led me to liking it better than iPhone.

Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Jd3774life

96 months ago

Upgraded from Series 0 and man am I impressed! Went from "Hmm been 20 seconds and app hasn't opened..guess i'll just check on my phone" to "Uh... I just clicked the app and its ALREADY LAUNCHED?!!:eek:"

Loving my S4

Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Rogifan

96 months ago

I remember when Mark Wilson at Fast Company wrote this:

You Guys Realize The Apple Watch Is Going To Flop, Right? ('https://www.fastcompany.com/3042987/you-guys-realize-the-apple-watch-is-going-to-flop-right')
Few ('http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/04/technology/apple-watch-flop/index.html') analysts or writers will outright say it, but I will: the Apple Watch is going to flop. And I bet a lot of other people are thinking ('http://www.wsj.com/articles/challenge-of-apple-watch-defining-its-purpose-1424133615') the same thing ('http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/04/technology/apple-watch-flop/index.html') for many good reasons.

And this:

Why The Apple Watch Is Flopping ('https://www.fastcompany.com/3048375/why-the-apple-watch-is-flopping')
Will the Apple Watch recover, and sell 100 million units in two years, like the iPad, or three years, like the iPhone? There’s still time—but not at these rates. (Which, to be fair, are projections based on email receipts hoovered up by Slice, not from Apple itself.) Even with generous rounding errors, the Watch has failed to become the status quo object in wearables. And for Apple, that’s a flop.

So how did this happen? The answer may sound like heresy to those who canonize—or even merely admire—Apple’s designers. What if the Apple Watch, for all its its milled and woven metals, all its appearances on the catwalk, isn’t actually all that well-designed? So far, the Apple Watch doesn’t seem very useful, and it hasn’t proven that fashionable.

And this:

The Apple Watch Is Doing Splendidly If You Completely Lower Your Expectations For Apple ('https://www.fastcompany.com/3048725/the-apple-watch-is-doing-splendidly-if-you-completely-lower-your-expectations-for-apple')
Even the worst-selling Apple product still pushes millions of units into the online and retail channel, but that doesn’t inherently mean that the Apple Watch will become a cultural phenomenon–and it forgets about the core economic principle of opportunity cost (namely, what could Apple have released if they dumped resources from the Apple Watch into a better product?). The iPhone sold 100 million units in three years. The iPad hit the same benchmark in two. The watch has another two Christmas retail seasons to reach that mark. Getting halfway would be more than respectable, but it wouldn’t equate to another Apple zeitgeist-defining moment.

Of course he’s still not done slamming Apple Watch:

The new Apple Watch 4 face is a design crime ('https://www.fastcompany.com/90235701/the-new-apple-watch-4-face-is-a-design-crime')

Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)