via @EA_Roa
Following Re/code’s report earlier this week that Apple will announce its wearable product (iWatch, iBand) alongside new iPhones on September 9th, Re/code now adds that the device won’t actually be available this year.
Sources in position to know tell me it won’t arrive at market for a few months. “It’s not shipping any time soon,” said one. So when does Apple plan to ship its eagerly anticipated wearable? That’s not clear, but my understanding is that we’re unlikely to see it at retail until after the holiday season — think early 2015.
Apple recently previewed another product months for its availability with the 2013 Mac Pro being shown off at WWDC last year before debuting in late December of that year.
More similar, perhaps, is the time between both the iPhone and iPad announcements and product debuts with considerable time between both also taking place.
Specifically, the iPhone was announced January 9, 2007 and went on sale June 29, 2007. The iPad was presented publicly on stage January 27, 2010 followed by a public release April 3, 2010 for WiFi models and April 30, 2010 for cellular models.
As for what to expect from Apple’s wearable product, 9to5Mac has reported extensively on the upcoming devices focus on fitness and health tracking and how technologies debuting with iOS 8 will allow it to interface with the iPhone. 9to5Mac has also heavily reported on the team behind bringing the device from product idea to a product on the market.
Earlier this month, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo released a report speculating that Apple’s wearable product could be released in 2015 rather than this fall.
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Booo!
Did you say the same thing when the original iPhone went on sale six months after it debuted?
Exactly.
A move like this would be designed to keep people from spending their money on the Moto 360 or new LG (which are looking really good right now). Apple is playing defense here.
They better have a REALLY compelling reason/functionality to make us wait, or I’m going for the new LG with round face.
No defence play here. They just don’t want all the parts to leak before they’ll show it to the world, it’s that easy. It’s called tactics and management ;)
Defense? No at all. It’s straight from apple’s playbook (the one they wrote and no one has still been able to emulate). An early announcement means they control the marketing pitch, unlike new iphone model designs that leak because they’re already in production. This gives apple a widow to announce, market, and time to improve their end product. The product will speak for itself I’m sure. I’m not saying you won’t want an LG watch, but you’ll know what you want come September 9, and my bet is 9to5 and other apple news sites (much like with the original iphone) will be clueless to at least one “killer app” and technology announced. They’re not going to enter a product category unless they can redefine it.
The Moto 360 looks terrible, the LG looks FAR better. That said, the Moto 360 looks a million times better than Samsung’s offerings.
There’s a huge problem with the Moto and LG though, and that of course is that they don’t really have a reason for being, unlike the iWatch. The iWatch will have numerous biosensors and homekit integration, and these watches are simply badly designed simple accessories to smartphones which do virtual nothing a smartphone doesn’t, and that is next to useless.
As far as I remember they have to show it to the public to patent it ( that was the case with original iPhone patents )
.. so if they would start production before, the competition might try to copy it legally
.. and of course they need to show it to the developers to bring supporting apps to the table at the launch day
Atleast we are going to see how it looks like …
Of course it’ll be previewed sooner than it actually goes to retail. This is the only great tactics. When you’re this big company you can not start to manufacture product like this before it was announced, there would be leaks everywhere. You want it to make as a huge secret as possible, present in on a conference and then start to manufacture it.
I love when I hear, “The iWatch better be AMAZING or I’m getting the Moto360 or LG G-watch R”… Ok, so do you want to switch all of your devices to android as well, because that is what would be required. Android wear is for android handset owners, and the iWatch will be for iOS users. Unless you want a OS agnostic wearable like a pebble, if you are an iOS user, the iWatch is your only option. And I’m sure it’ll be a very good option at that.
This is a silly lie.
Apple is surely not going to show a product that won’t be available for many months.
If they show it then people must be able to buy it if not immediately in a few weeks. Not months!
So these rumors on the iWatch are just lame lies.
Otherwise Apple would be committing suicide.
Nope, look at the iPhone announcement to release, it was months, the iPad was a couple months as well. You can expect the iWatch to be months. You can’t stop leaks, and a new product doesn’t compete with your own products because you don’t have this product yet. Announcing it well before it’s release means that design leaks are virtually impossible.
Yea that tactic really turned out poorly for the iPhone and iPad. If memory serves correct, everyone gobbled up RAZRs and HP Slates.
Okay phew! Now I’ll have more time to stash my developer profits in order to have any hope of getting an iWatch/iBand
Why has no one thought of this as a way for developers to develop for the device? I personally think this will be the best for us as consumers, great device and great apps to go with it at launch.
I am disappointed, but all these rumors make sense. We will have to wait to get this thing, but at least we can see it soon.
I think this is well thought of.
1. If the wearable device has anything to do with Health that might need FDA approval apple might need time to do it. The same was the case with original iphone announcement 6 months prior to launch with FCC approvals.
2. It’s about demand management, get people with demand for iphone out of the way the get to the demand for Heath focused folks who are. Waiting for new product category from apple.
3. have people wait it out and not buy any other ones from LG moto msft etc
4. Apple uses every thing as an opportunity to market a product and build a brand. There is no way they will let news of one product overshadow the other. Also they might want to keep a window to address any issues with iphone6 before the next wave. Just rumors of iwatch/iband have drowned out the official announcement from lg and samsung devices.
5. Keep people coming in to the store in their q2. Keep up the halo effect.
6. Eddie cue made a statement to walt mosberg that apple has the best product pipeline in 25 years. That’s a powerful statement and tim cook agreed with it.so may be they have some other things lined up. Iphone 6 and mobile payments in itself could be big. Then it could be iwatch and health kit ( after all the holiday calories). Then iPad prod…they created space for it long back….with Touch ID been proven for a year, ibm partnership for sales and enterprise apps. iPad is primed for 4/1/15 ie q3. That’s not to say iPad mini and air might not get a refresh.
I think apple is in for the kill. It’s going after the competition where it hasn’t before. Big screen phones…if people want it we will make it. Ur tablet can do better than my laptop u say…mine can too and then some. In the past apple has killed some if their own products or components to make a better product it can do it again(5c, may be a MacBook). And I haven’t considered iPod touch. All in all I think apple is looking at covering all screen sizes, price points and processing power and age groups. When is the tv/monitor/screen coming?;)
As an investor I like it in the near term. And am worried in the long term. This is what steve jobs cleanup when he came back to apple and started focusing on 2-3 products.
A la original iPhone I guess?
The lag between announcement and release is a good thing. Apple can: 1) Prevent manufacturing leaks in Shenzhen 2) Get approval from health regulatory agencies (e.g. FDA in the US), again without leaking 3) Apple Stores can reconfigure to show it off. Probably not just displayed on a wooden table. 4) Awareness can build around what is still an unfamiliar product category. “Here’s a smart watch! On sale in a week!” would likely result in very poor sales figures. 5) Deeper third-party partnerships with medical device and home appliance manufacturers can build. Right now, it’s just HealthKit and HomeKit, with no first-party hardware.
I agree on point number 3.
Several store including the one in our area over the past few years have been expanded to 3 times it’s original size. I am sure these are aligned the future product expansion plans.
Btw for the past few years iphone leaks are very close to the final announced product but we haven seen any speculation/leaks/possible design and features of the iwearable have we?
I like how Tim Cook is a floating torso with no legs in the picture :-)
Apple has never announced a product that didn’t ship pre-Holiday shopping season. Whether the iPhone or iPad, Apple announced those products post-Holidays and shipped them that summer and spring respectively. It also strikes me as odd to preview such an anticipated product before the Holiday shopping season that won’t ship until a January. This may be a legit rumor, but it stands out from anything Apple has done. As such, I have trouble buying the rumor. We’ll know in 6 days.