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Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo: Apple’s sapphire-covered ‘iWatch’ to enter mass production in November

Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has provided relatively accurate information on future Apple product plans in the past (but frequent misses on timing), has issued a new report today indicating that the Apple smart watch will enter mass-production in November. Kuo’s previous estimate on production for the “iWatch” indicated that the device would enter mass-production rounds in September. “We have pushed back our estimated time of iWatch mass production from late-September to mid-/ late- November. We also lower our forecast of iWatch 2014 shipments by 40% to 3mn units,” Kuo wrote in today’s report. The analyst claims the push back is due to more complex hardware and software engineering in this first generation Apple product category.

Kuo also provides some tidbits as to what he is expecting the device to feature:

  • Flexible AMOLED display
  • Sapphire coated display cover
  • Higher waterproof standards
  • New system-on-a-chip components

Both a flexible AMOLED display and sapphire crystal display covers have been rumored in previous reports about the Apple smart watch, waterproofing technology makes sense in light of this being a fitness device that straps to a wrist, and we first reported in January that the iWatch will sport a new system on a chip to pack in numerous sensors that could track health data such as steps taken, calories burned, hydration, and sweat. The device, which will also include advanced mapping functionality per multiple sources, will integrate deeply with the iOS 8 operating system and its HealthKit software. We expect the device to be announced at a keynote address in October and launch by the 2014 holiday season.

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Comments

  1. Taste_of_Apple - 10 years ago

    Reblogged this on Taste of Apple and commented:
    He’s usually pretty spot on. At least for an analyst. Makes sense that they’ll debut it ahead of mass production to avoid leaks (as much as possible) of such a new category of product for them.

  2. Well, looks like we can forget about iWatch in 2014. I don’t think it’s going to happen anyway, but I guess we’ll see.

    • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

      Nope, not gonna happen, all those rumors…complete speculation. All of the Apple hires…for other things. Not a chance. Oh wait.

      • Barry Le Bombe - 10 years ago

        lol

      • Jurgis Ŝalna - 10 years ago

        I am still waiting or Apple TV. All those hires, all the speculation.
        iWatch will be another Apple’s unicorn, just like Apple TV was.
        And have your forget that Apple already made a watch – it was iPod Nano.
        Headphones are worn more often than watches nowadays. They just bought headphone company. They just standardised lightning connector for audio and data.
        Besides what is iWatch use cases? Save 0.3 seconds to look up pointless notifications?

      • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

        Jurgis Salna’s comment shows that he is truly oblivious.

  3. If parts and components hadn’t entered product by right now, there’s no way it’s going to have a launch in 2014. You’d never survive demand. And January/February are rarely product launch months, which leaves March 2015 as the soonest it would come out.

    • scottwilkins - 10 years ago

      Really? Since when did Apple care about meeting demand? They’d prefer to looks like they sell out each and every time so they purposefully under produce. Marketing 101 for mega companies.

      • Lars Pallesen - 10 years ago

        I think you need to go back and study that Marketing 101. When demand is already at a fever pitch and customers are just waiting, credit cards in hand, then it’s a terrible idea to create even more demand you can’t meet. That doesn’t create sales – just customer frustration and loss of sales to competitors who have product to sell.

  4. RP - 10 years ago

    Enter mass production mid t8 late November and be ready for the holiday season?

  5. Ted Pugh - 10 years ago

    If this is the case. That really sucks. Was looking forward to having it before the holidays. Oh well.

  6. OneOkami (@OneOkami) - 10 years ago

    I could see the product potentially having a late 2014 launch even if it doesn’t go into mass production until late September. Something tells me Apple may not necessarily be planning to ship as many units for launch as they would along the lines of a new iPhone/iPad. There’s no telling how much demand there really is for this product, especially if its priced uncomfortably high for a lot of consumers (which I get the feeling it probably will be).

  7. PMZanetti - 10 years ago

    Yet another year that the iWatch won’t materialize. What a disappointment.

    Not nearly as disappointing as the lack of update to AppleTV and Mac mini.

    • jorge1170x - 10 years ago

      It’s what you guys get for hitching your hopes on just ONE corporation. There are tons of awesome products coming out these days that do not necessarily have an apple on them, but if you fall into the trap of corporation worship, you might be blind to them.

      • PMZanetti - 10 years ago

        Right. TONs. If any of them made anything reasonably worth buying, I would, just for the heck of it. They don’t.

      • Jurgis Ŝalna - 10 years ago

        Tons of companies and nobody found a compelling use for smartwatch yet.

      • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

        Except Apple jurgis. Here’s a hint for you: biometrics.

  8. I think this is on purpose.

    Because both Samsung and HTC start releasing new products in the first 3 or 4 months of the year and Google is also rumored to be releasing Android Silver around that time.

    It would be bad for Apple to not have any Products coming out around the same time as all the media and news focus would be on Android.

    This is my guess anyway and if it its not on purpose its a good thing because it would help balance out the Year by releasing some kind of new product within the first 3 or 4 months instead off all at the end of the year.

  9. Lee (@leemahi) - 10 years ago

    Well it looks like im getting the latest Stock android device and a Moto 360 then! See you suckas on the other side.

    • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

      I’d wait for the device that is worthy of being attached to your body. I love android wear because I can place an order for a pizza on my watch while my phone is in my pocket because I wouldn’t be able to place the order for the pizza without it. Most embarrassing thing I’ve seen in a company’s demo, ever. Seriously, unapologetically embarrassing.

      Apple’s won’t even be able to be compared to anything else available, that’s how bad and useless the others are.

      • herb02135go - 10 years ago

        You’re missing the point, smoothie. Apple’s isn’t available and won’t be for some time. And when it does hit the market, the only things that will work are long available in Samsung products.

        iFail

      • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

        @herb I know you like Samsung and all, but seriously, you LOVE Apple. Here’s how I know: no one is stupid enough to waste their time on an Apple website if they hate Apple. By stupid, I mean should be eliminated from the earth kinda stupid.

        Anyway, the only point I miss is any point you try to make on this site, because honestly you never have one, your comments are obscenely idiotic.

        To address your comment though, samsung offers literally nothing with their Wearables, it’s an embarrassment. They are also some of the worst designed watches anyone has ever put on their wrist. I actually give samsung credit for the stupidity of their decisions because they couldn’t be worse. A camera on the band on the watch, it was ground breaking how idiotic that was. Anyway, absolutely no one but Apple understands why a smartwatch should be made, and that is for biosensors. Nothing anyone else has put out will be comparable to what Apple releases, until they all copy Apple, of course.

        Android wear as I stated is crazy bad too. Someone literally thought it would be a good idea to be able to order a pizza with your watch. Not only that, but like I said, in order to even do that, your phone would have to be right beside you because the watch has to tether to get a signal. Embarrassing beyond belief.

      • Alex (@Metascover) - 10 years ago

        @herb

        CORRECTION

        “the only things that will BARELY work are long available in Samsung products”

    • jorge1170x - 10 years ago

      In 2007, Apple hit upon the the winning formula, but android copied it and just like the clone PCs did to the Mac, the student has simply surpassed the master. There’s no denying it if you’re intellectually honest and compare 2014-vintage android devices to current iPhones, not old crappy droid handsets as people like to do. Android has come a looong way since froyo and gingerbread….and the hardware is really good now too.

      • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

        If you think anything touches the iPhone iPad iPod or MacBooks I sincerely feel bad for you. I’m sorry, the others are just far worse, in design, UI, gimmicky features, and their feeding useless specs to people which mean nothing. I’d feel bad when a company tries to trick me. Samsung does this with their benchmarks. They literally built in software to know when a benchmark app was running so they could turn off everything and over clock the device. It’s embarrassing.

      • Alex (@Metascover) - 10 years ago

        And yet not a single one of these Android phones has a fingerprint scanner as fast as reliable as the one on the iPhone.

      • Lars Pallesen - 10 years ago

        “… and just like the clone PCs did to the Mac, the student has simply surpassed the master. ” You really had to use, of all things, the Windows PC as an example of how the competition has surpassed Apple’s products in mastery? *looks at generic Dell plastic laptop – looks back at MacBook Pro Retina* Really?

  10. o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

    Flexible AMOLED display is what he expects, while other reports are of a curved display. This ensures it won’t be circular which is good because a circular display is really stupid IMO. Not good for information consumption and input, although information consumption will be nearly all you do with this device. It will either be rectangular or I think more likely it will have curved sides, flat top and bottom ( )

  11. The iWatches will enter production after the unveil in October for one reason…so it doesn’t LEAK. I’m shooting for a mid October event, and production to start in the beginning of November. Expect a late december release with a constrained supply.

    • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

      The problem there is, there is no way they would purposefully wait until October to show it before they begin mass production. Apple would be embarrassingly bad if they didn’t release a product in time for holiday shopping, on purpose. If anything they would unveil it along the iPhone 6 and start production shortly after, in time for the holiday shopping season.

    • Alex (@Metascover) - 10 years ago

      I think that too.

  12. dafthunk - 10 years ago

    I can’t see them announcing the iWatch any time other than with the iPhone 6. They might release it later, but it will tie in with the iPhone so much that surely they’ll unveil them at the same event in September.

  13. Steffen Jobbs - 10 years ago

    I thought no one wears watches anymore, so what would be the point of Apple selling them?

    • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

      Biosensors. That is literally the entire reason Apple is making it, because all other reasons are not worth it. Yes, the obvious things will be there like notifications and maybe a clock, but Apple isn’t making an accessory, while it will closely work with other iOS devices like they all do now, it has a reason to be, by itself. Biosensors.

    • Exactly! it won’t be a watch. It will be a wrist band like the Jawbone UP or Fitbit. I myself do wear a watch but no way will I swap out my Tissot for some geeky smartwatch… Apple is in the sexy gadgets business, not the timepiece / jewelry business.

  14. I love it how people assume that Apple will actually ship an iWatch. It makes much more sense for Apple to ship a fitness tracker ala the Jawbone UP24 or the Fitbit.

  15. QHARTZ (@Qhartz1) - 10 years ago

    QHARTZ -Elegant, thin and portable. Never run out of battery power again.
    http://kck.st/1rrQxhe

    • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

      That is useless. I’d rather my device charge quickly by plugging it in. Having to sit a device in a specific spot to charge is actually far worse than plugging it in, for multiple reasons. The most notable of course being that you can still use it, and it charges much faster. All of these have been useless and making something that was never necessary. The only reason to not plug a device in to charge it is if Witricity takes off and you’ll be able to charge from a distance.