5-to-6 million units to be made during the first quarter

Feb 17, 2015 15:21 GMT  ·  By

Apple has ordered its suppliers in the Far East to start making Apple Watches. An estimated 5-to-6 million units of the three versions combined will be assembled in the first quarter ahead of the device’s release in April, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In a post to its Digits blog, the Journal cites people familiar with the matter as saying that initial orders for the watch are relatively modest, especially those of the gold model, but that Apple is expected to scale up production as it anticipates growing demand for the wearable.

One interesting tidbit goes like this. According to the unnamed sources, Apple expects to start producing more than a million units of the gold-laden Edition model each month starting with the second quarter.

Unnamed analysts also chimed in with some important information, which the WSJ was more than happy to share with the world: demand for the high-end watches is expected to be the strongest in China, “where Apple’s sales are booming.”

If demand for the iPhone 6 Plus is any indication, China is indeed Apple’s top customer when it comes to products bearing a golden finish. Only this time, it will actually be real gold that they’d be buying. It remains to be seen if the purchase power of China will be enough to confirm these predictions.