We were expecting the next Apple Watch to make its debut in the next few weeks, but a new report from Nikkei Asia indicates that it may not be likely. The Californian tech-maker has reportedly run into several critical issues, and will delay mass production in order to solve them.

Apple needs more time on the next Watch

Manufacturers reportedly began small-scale production of the Series 7 watch sometime last week, but have been unable so far to produce products with suitable performance. The major contributing factor appears to be the Watch’s new and more complicated design, which has changed for the first time in a while.

Internally there’s some fancy footwork going on. The new Watch is apparently getting a few new health features, for example, blood pressure measurement. These new features obviously have their own components that need to fit inside of the Watch’s chassis, which hasn’t been upscaled too much to make more room for them.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has also made it hard for Apple and its suppliers to meet and examine the Watch’s new specs, making it difficult to identify structural and design difficulties before entering production.

According to Nikkei Asia’s sources, all of Apple’s assemblers are having similar issues with the Watch’s design, and Apple has reportedly asked several of its component suppliers to delay their shipments for the time being.

Apple is apparently working non-stop to resolve these issues, but there’s a high chance that the new Watch might take a bit longer than expected to make it to consumers.