Apple has high hopes for the Apple Watch — its first new product category in four years — placing an initial order with Asian manufacturers for between 5 million and 6 million of the devices, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Taiwan-based Quanta Computer Inc. is the main assembler of the Apple Watch, which is expected to be launched in April.

The entry-level Apple Watch Sport model accounts for half of the production order, while the mid-tiered Apple Watch will count for one-third, one person told the WSJ.

Apple Watch Edition, the high-end model with 18-karat gold casing, is expected to have relatively small orders in the first quarter but Apple plans to produce more than 1 million units per month in the second quarter, the Journal reported.

Thousands will work round the clock during the Chinese New Year holidays at Quanta's factory in Changshu, China, the newspaper reported, quoting one person.

Apple said it does not comment on rumor or speculation. The iPhone maker's shares rose as much as 1.9 percent to a record $129.45 on the Nasdaq on Tuesday morning.

The entry-level Apple Watch Sport model accounts for half the production order, while the mid-tiered Apple Watch will count for a third, one person told the WSJ.

The high-end Apple Watch Edition with 18-karat gold casing, is expected to have relatively small orders in the first quarter, but Apple plans to produce more than 1 million units per month in the second quarter, the Journal reported, citing the person.

The Apple Watch, starting at $349, can receive phone calls and messages, play music, serve as a digital wallet to pay for goods and monitor heart rates via special sensors.

"My expectations are very high on it," Apple CEO Tim Cook said on the tech giant's earnings call last month. "I'm using it every day and love it and can't live without it." He added that the Apple Watch is "right on schedule" to ship in April.

The devices feature the company's Retina high-resolution displays, with screens 1.5-1.7 inches high.

The Apple Watch line is mainly a sidekick to the flagship iPhone, designed for alerts, quick access to info and apps and telling time. For Internet access or to make or receive calls, the smartwatches will require an iPhone. The watches also include the ability to play music (disconnected from an iPhone) and can act as a remote control for Apple TV set-tops and control music on iPhones.

However, while Apple originally envisioned the smartwatches as health devices — which could monitor heart rate, blood pressure and stress levels — those features will not be included in the initial units, according to the Journal.

The problem was that those features worked inconsistently, depending on factors such as hairy arms, dry skin or even how tightly a user wore the devices. Instead, Apple Watch will include only a pulse-monitoring capability.

About half of Apple's first-quarter orders for the smartwatches will be the entry-level Apple Watch Sport model, with one-third for a midtier model with stainless-steel casing and a watch face covered by sapphire crystal, the Journal reported, citing anonymous sources.

The remainder would be about 1 million units of the 18-karat gold high-end Apple Watch Edition model.