Don't Expect To See An iWatch Launch This Year, Analyst Warns
by Joe White
May 23, 2013
While most of us have been hoping Apple might announce its anticipated "iWatch" either at WWDC 2013, or at its fall event later this year, one prominent analyst has warned that the long-awaited wearable product may rather launch in late 2014.
The argument, made by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, suggests that due to the iOS overhaul said to be occurring under Jony Ive, Apple will not have the available resources required to build the software needed to power such a wristwatch-style iDevice.
As Kuo puts it, via MacRumors:
Apple may not have adequate resources to develop an iWatch version of iOS because it may require big changes to iPhone and iPad iOS this year. In addition, wearable device components aren’t mature. For these reasons, we think mass production of the iWatch is more likely to begin in 2H14, not 2H13 as the market speculates.He notes, however, that Apple is expected to draw on the iPod nano in order to develop an iWatch display of between 1.5 and 2-inches. Kuo explains:
Currently, the iPod nano uses the same GF2 touch technology as used by the iPad mini. Since the size and computing ability requirements of the iWatch are similar to those of the iPod nano, we think iWatch will use iPod nano’s GF2 touch technology and AP [application processor].Recently, we heard Apple was testing small-sized Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) 1.5-inch screens for its so-called iWatch product, and that research into curved batteries would allow the Cupertino, Calif. company to create a smartwatch that moulds around its owner's wrist. It had previously been speculated that Apple's iWatch would launch in 2013, alongside a low-cost "budget" iPhone, a Retina display-equipped iPad mini, and a revamped line of the company's usual iDevices. Though if Kuo's opinion is correct, it could be that Apple fans have a while longer to wait before they'll be able to get their hands on the company's first wearable iDevice. We'll keep you posted.
