iWatch production woes reportedly a massive headache for Apple

As if the endless rumormongering and speculation wasn’t bad enough, Apple’s first wearable device is reportedly suffering a setback that could delay its release even further. According to Digitimes, both Apple’s iWatch and Qualcomm’s Toq smartwatch are “seeing less than 50% yield rates due to difficulties applying surface treatments on their metal injection molded (MIM) chassis.” The report says that although this process has been a part of the industry for some time, MIM is traditionally used on internal components. Now that the external design of many devices includes these components, manufacturers are beginning to stress the importance of surface treatments. Apple, Qualcomm and other device makers are having to balance between efficiency and quality, and if the sources are correct, they are having a hard time finding that balance.