The articles about the Apple Watch -- which is at best a small fraction of all Apple sales regardless of "how it's doing" -- range from estimates that also range, to fanboi crap. MacWorld:According to the Wall Street Journal, a subsidiary of Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) and one of Apple's suppliers for the Watch told investors that it fell short of a "break-even" number of shipments of its Apple Watch components during the second quarter, and it expects to fall short again in the third quarter. According to Li, it's very rare for a company to fall short of "break-even" shipments in the third quarter, given the looming holiday rush, and Li says that ASE's shortfall indicates that Apple Watch sales are lower than expected. ASE's subsidiary said its "break-even" point is two million units per month. [Supplier woes suggest Apple Watch sales aren't great]Ultimately it's a largely useless, look-at-me, pretty bauble that fits the bejeweled blitz mindset of the ugly queen running the company.
The second iteration of the developer kit for the Watch allows more access to its features, and direct use of its resources rather than relying on an iPhone, but it's still an accessory for the iPhone and nothing more, good for people who like to fiddle with their high-status toys regardless of where they are.
That said, iPhone sales are usually strong in the 1st Q (the one leading up to Xmas), but it appears any refresh to the line will arrive early 2016 at the earliest, which could slow upgrades in 2015.
Corning makes Gorilla Glass (up to GG4), upon which Apple continues to rely, since destroying its artificial sapphire "partner".
How Corning won Apple back and built the strongest Gorilla Glass yet
By Luke Dormehl
4:00 am, November 26, 2014
http://www.cultofmac.com/304120/corning-gorilla-glass-4/
Six things we learned from Apple’s spat with GT Advanced
http://www.cnet.com/news/six-things-we-learned-from-apples-spat-with-gt-advanced/
Judge Orders GT Advanced Bankruptcy Papers Unsealed
Apple Sought to Keep Information Under Wraps, Citing Fears of Reputation Harm
http://www.wsj.com/articles/judge-orders-gt-advanced-bankruptcy-papers-unsealed-1414690591
GT Advanced COO Says Apple Used ‘Bait and Switch’ Tactic
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-11-07/gt-advanced-coo-says-apple-used-bait-and-switch-tactic
What Happened To The Relationship Between Apple And GT Advanced Technologies?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2014/10/07/what-happened-to-the-relationship-between-apple-and-gt-advanced-technologies/
Court unseals documents in GT Advanced case, Apple says it ‘bent over backwards’ to help sapphire supplier
http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/11/07/court-unseals-documents-in-gt-advanced-case-apple-says-it-bent-over-backwards-to-help-sapphire-supplier
Apple did not destroy it's partner. They destroyed themselves. They promised they could deliver 80% on their boules. . . and were only getting 10% useable boules. They could not economically deliver what they contracted to do. Then the officers of the company started doing insider trading, trying to divest themselves of their holdings. NOT GOOD. . . Apple tried everything they could to save this company from bankruptcy. They could not. The meme that Apple "destroyed" the company comes from Apple's unwillingness to keep pumping more money into them without getting anything from them on time or getting product after Apple actually pumping much more than was contracted. Apple BOUGHT them their furnaces. . . Now, although Apple has allowed them to continue in operation during the bankruptcy, using those furnaces as collateral, the crooks at the leadership of the company, have attempted to finance more money using the same furnaces that already have Apple's lien interest on them, having told the potential lenders they owned them free and clear. This was uncovered just last month! These guys play fast and loose with the truth.