Apple's iWatch may see a 2014 release, with the company reportedly eyeing an initial production of 65 million units.
The WWDC lottery is over and we can now start looking ahead to what we can only hope are exciting product announcements from Apple down the road. While new iPhones are all but a given for 2014, a lot of speculation remains surrounding Apple’s now mythical and long-rumored iWatch.
To that end, AppleInsider relayed a note from Barclays chip analyst Blayne Curtis, who claimed that Apple’s iWatch may house an ultraviolet light sensor chip to help individuals with an “elevated risk of sunburn or just a general concern about excessive sun exposure.”
What’s particularly noteworthy about the aforementioned chip, rumored to be supplied by Silicon Labs, is that it’s also capable of “analyzing heart rate, pulse, blood oximetry, and [providing] proximity and gesture control sensing using both infrared and ambient light methods.”
Indeed, with all of the news pointing to Apple releasing a Healthbook app capable of aggregating a variety of health vitals from a number of sources, it stands to reason that Apple would release hardware of its own into the mix as well.
As for a potential release date, Curtis writes that a launch window hasn’t yet been nailed down, but he expects the device to launch sometime in either late 2014 or early 2015.
On the heels of Curtis’ note comes word from Taiwan’s Economic Daily News (courtesy of Digitimes) hinting that Apple’s iWatch could launch as early as the third quarter of this year. That would put the launch date sometime between July and September.
Some other tidbits from the report include:
– The device will be manufactured by Quanta computer, while the touch display will be supplied by TPK
– Apple has told its suppliers to have all necessary components ready to go at the beginning of August
– Apple is eyeing a production schedule of 65 million units in 2014
– The iWatch will feature a Sapphire display
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