‘Apple Watch shortages are due to a defective vibrating motor’

The shortages of Apple Watch copies are due to one defective component in part of the watches. So says The Wall Street Journal. The so-called Taptic Engine, which transmits notifications as a subtle tap on the wrist, is broken in some cases.

The component is supplied by two different manufacturers, and one of the two manufacturers sometimes produces defective Taptic Engine modules, writes The Wall Street Journal. During endurance tests, Apple would have discovered that some of those modules break down over time. As a result, Apple has had to throw away an unknown number of completed Apple Watches.

The Taptic Engine is a vibration engine in the Apple Watch that notifies users as a subtle wrist touch, which should be less distracting than a sound or vibration. The module is produced by the Chinese AAC Technologies and the Japanese Nidec; the modules of AAC would be faulty in some cases. Apple would now have ordered Nidec to produce all vibration motors, but the question is whether that company can meet the increasing demand in one go.

There are no indications that defective Taptic Engines have found their way to extradited Apple Watches, but the production problems do delay the delivery of Apple’s smart watch. Some users who have ordered an Apple Watch will have to wait until June for their watch to be delivered.