An Apple Watch charger shortage is reportedly impacting accessory production

Apple Watch charger
Apple Watch charger (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

  • Apple Watch charging pucks are reportedly in short supply.
  • Third-party accessory makers are struggling to get the parts needed to complete their own products.

A shortage of Apple Watch charging pucks is reportedly impacting the ability of accessory makers to get new products into the hands of customers.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, accessory makers are struggling to get their hands on the Apple Watch charging kit that they need if they are to be able to get their own products into the hands of their customers.

It isn't clear why this is happening, but it's likely that the chargers are suffering in the same way other parts are — COVID-19 production constraints. The charging pucks are proprietary Apple parts, meaning companies can't just make their own. Instead, they have to use Apple kit and then integrate it into their own products for sale to customers.

Have you been waiting a while for an Apple Watch charger made by a company other than Apple? Well, you're probably not alone. Some smaller accessory companies told me that Apple's proprietary watch charging pucks, which are available for third-party companies to integrate, have been in short supply, delaying some shipments. It's unclear what has led to the shortages, but it could be another knock-on effect of pandemic-stricken supply chain issues that have occurred over the past year.

Apple's first-party chargers do not appear to be impacted by any of this and you'll still get one in the box when you order a new Apple Watch Series 6, for example.

Looking for a new accessory for your Apple Watch? These are the best Apple Watch accessories we've found. Let's just hope the chargers are available to buy!

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.