Apple iWatch Release Date, Specs, Features & Design: WWDC Sneak Peek?

Apple is rumoured to be using flexible OLED displays for its iWatch prototypes

The iWatch is rumoured to be Apple’s first foray into wearable technology, the iPhone maker’s response to Google Glass, the Samsung Galaxy Gear and the myriad of other smart wearable devices poised to hit the consumer space in 2014.

The iWatch has been on the cards for a LONG TIME now, and while Apple’s tight security has lapsed somewhat over the years, we’ve still yet to see any solid leaks of the actual device or what type of features it is likely to support.

Analysts, suppliers and market watchers are convinced 2014 will be the year of the iWatch. Below is everything we currently know about the iWatch, what it’s likely to do, and how Apple plans to differentiate its smartwatch from the multitude of other smartwatches now readily available. 

iWatch Design And Display

LG to produce displays for Apple iWatch

Details on Apple’s long rumoured smartwatch have been sparse over the past few months but a report from Korea is starting the ball rolling again. The report which came out on Monday states that LG Display will exclusively produce displays for the iWatch.

There will be a mass production of the screens from July through until September to make 2 million units in total, according to the report. The technology is similar to that used by the Korean manufacturer in the LG G Flex handset and the display will measure 1.52-inches. In terms of the glass, it will be P-OLED or plastic OLED.

But will it be bendable and feature the same anti-scratch technology which the LG G Flex boasts? What does give this report some credence is the July to September production dates. Apple has experienced some difficulties in getting the iWatch off the ground. Problems have included the screen technology, battery power and other corporate problems.

The LA Times reports that the latest patent granted to Apple shows that the company is making a curved screen iPhone - following in the footsteps of of Samsung and LG.

KoreaHerald, also reported on LG's apparent deal with Apple and quotes an anonymous source saying,

"LG Display has been in talks over flexible organic light-emitting diode panels for quite a while and it looks like it will be sealing the deal with Apple."

As per previous rumour, Apple is thought to still be in a prototype testing phase and has multiple models with different sized screens in testing. These are said to inlcude a 1.4-inch model, a 1.5-inch model and a 1.6-inch model.

The Chosun Ilbo, citing unnamed “industry sources”, reports that Apple is currently working with three design prototypes with flexible plastic OLED screens. One such prototype with a 1.5-inch flexible OLED panel appears to have been given a limited production run, presumably for test units, while the other two with 1.3-inch and 1.4-inch screens are still being worked on.

Quanta To Build iWatch For Q3 2014 Launch - 65 Million Units Lined Up For First Year

A report from Chinese publication Econnomic Daily News claims that Quanta Computer will build Apple's iWatch for a launch in the third quarter of 2014 and it's lining up 65 million units for the first 12 months of production.

The contract will be an exclusive to Quanta, with other Apple manufacturing partners Foxconn and Inventec being shut out of the deal. However, other suppliers will provide component parts such as the touchscreen controls and circuit boards. Apple is designing its own chip for the iWatch but allegedly Samsung will build some of these.

As per earlier reports, it's said the display will use Sapphire Glass.

Apple To Sell 65 Million iWatches In 2014?

One report is claiming the Apple iWatch will be released during Q3 in 2014 meaning it’ll be out between July and September. The report from China claims Apple’s iWatch will be manufactured by Quanta Computer whilst TPK will be working on the touchscreen on the smartwatch.

According to the report Taiwanese firm Richtek will be designing the chip available in the Apple iWatch but it’ll be manufactured by Samsung instead. The report continues to say Apple wants its suppliers to deliver orders at some point in August so it can make its own internal deadline.

But the real question is will it sell well? According to Apple, it will, the report claims Apple believes it will sell 65 million units by the end of 2014.

That’s no mean feat but knowing Apple it may be able to deliver on that prediction. We can’t wait to find out.

iWatch will make smartwatches "cool", says analyst

Little is known for certain about the iWatch, Apple has not even confirmed the product is in development. But we do know one thing - if and when it does hit the market, it'll be cool.

Or so says Cantor Fitzgerald's global head of technology (hardware and software) Brian White  on Bloomberg TV. He predicted that while a lot of people had entered the wearable tech market so far "it's going to take Apple to make it cool". White re-iterated that Apple is  going to bring the iWatch to market this year.

"Every, about, four years Apple comes out with a new product category. In 2014, we believe it's going to be the iWatch," he added.

Another interesting (if not entirely original) prediction from White: he believes that China will become an increasingly important market for Apple.

Apple Uses Fake Company To File Patents

Apple has been using a fake company name to file some patents for the iWatch in secret. French site Consomac has done some investigating and found the Apple iWatch has been trademarked by a dummy corporation called Brightflash.

Brightflash has trademarked the term in the UK, US and over 50 other countries around the world. Each of the applications has been filed under international classification 14 which specifically covers just clocks, jewellery and most importantly watches.

Brightflash also uses the same intellectual property attorney as the Cupertino company which connects the two. We don’t know what exact patents Brightflash has filed ready for Apple to use which is a shame. Once we do begin to see the actual patents which have been filed we should get to see some juicy details on what the iWatch will be like.

Apple Wanted Swiss Watch-Makers For The iWatch

A Financial Times report reveals Apple wanted Swiss watch-making experts to work on the iWatch. According to the report, Apple wanted talent from esteemed watch making brands to create a smart-watch which also had a traditional mechanism.

Apple wanted experts from Swatch, LVMH Hublot and “several Swiss parts manufacturers” but no one seemed to accept the offer. Switzerland has had a tight grip on the watch making industry for decades and is currently unsure of the wearable smart technology marketplace.

Swatch’s CEO Nick Hayek said "We have been in discussions - not ever initiated by us - with practically all players in smart wearables up until today” but then revealed "we see no reason why we should enter into any partnership agreement."

Meanwhile rival manufacturer Patek Phillippe’s president Larry Pettinelli said its "conceivable that Apple would be interested in developing a type of hybrid with some type of mechanical aspects."

This report shows Apple is looking to make a more traditional looking watch than some of its competitors.

It’s always possible Apple approached another watch making expert that accepted the offer but which hasn’t been revealed in this report. Apple is currently being very secretive with the details of the long awaited iWatch, as it always is with new products, so it wouldn’t be a massive surprise if it had successfully hidden some watch making expertise up its sleeve.

Apple's got an iWatch for both ladies and gents

Apple's iWatch will come in different size to cater for men and women, according to reports.

The chatter was started by David Hsieh, president of the greater China market at DisplaySearch, who attributed it to "Apple sources" when he spoke at a conference in Taiwan. It comes as Paul Gagnon, also of DisplaySearch blogged that Apple were moving away from focusing on HD Apple TV to focus on the iWatch. "According to sources in the TV supply chain, it appears that Apple’s long-rumoured TV plans, which were far from concrete anyway, have been put on hold again, possibly to be replaced by a rollout of wearable devices.

"To offer truly unique product differentiation that would allow Apple to capture market share from existing smart TV brands, they would need to either deliver some exclusive source of content that the other brands cannot, such as a la carte pay-TV channels, or proprietary content not available on other devices", he blogged.

While DisplaySearch are worth listening to, at this stage all rumours are just that - rumours, so please take them with a pinch of salt. 

iWatch Features

A report has claimed Apple is working on a feature for the iWatch which aims to predict heart attacks before they happen. The technology would work by listening to the sound blood makes as it flows through the users arteries and then send notifications to the wearer if something goes awry.

The report was picked up by San Francisco based newspaper SFGate. It stated Apple is working with audio engineer Tomlinson Holman, famed for creating THX and 10.2 Surround sound, to develop the technology.

There have been rumours of Apple focusing on the health market with iOS 8 by releasing a “Healthbook” which will help keep track of the number of steps and calories burned each day. This wouldn’t neccesarily be exclusive for the iWatch though, it’s likely to feature on the next iPhone once iOS 8 rolls around.

A patent has been filed by Apple with the US Patent and Trademark Office, it appears to be associated with wearable tech.

The patent in question describes a wrist-based pedometer "step detection" technology. While of course all pedometers detect steps, this one is quite clever as it factors in location technology.

According to Appleinsider, the move in pedometer technology from primaryily body-mounted trackers to wrist-based gadgets has an adverse effect on accuracy - limb movement creates a lot of "noise" for the pedometer which can mess up step-keeping.

"Since readings from on-board sensors reflect detected changes in magnitudes of forces, including gravity, software analysis now plays a large part in outputting accurate movement data," the site reports. "As far as the hardware is concerned, spikes in directional magnitude can be masked by arm swings, jolts of taking a step or a bump against a keyboard."  

"Further, current algorithms based on peak magnitude and step frequency data fail to sufficiently take into account possible missed steps."

This is where Apple's location-data based patent comes in, the algorithms can intelligently use location data to calculate the number of steps made by the user during travel. Allegedly the tech can also tell when it is being worn on the wrist and when a user breaks into a run.

iWatch Battery

Apple To Use LG Batteries in iWatch?

The Korean Herald has some details from industry sources which say Apple is planning to use LG and Samsung batteries for the iWatch. According to the sources, Apple is looking into using traditional Li-ion batteries and not – as previous reports have claimed – curved ones.

The sources also said Apple is looking into LG Chem’s “stepped” batteries which use the entire handset to fill the battery, taking up a lot of room. This is the same technology the manufacturer used to give the LG G2 an excellent battery life.

The insiders also claim Apple will not used a curved display on its SmartWatch. Apparently, the wrist band would be too uncomfortable to wear for long hours at a time, which is exactly what you need from a smartwatch.

Apple has yet to confirm its iWatch project, although many insiders and analysts expect the smartwatch to launch sometime this year. 

Apple Testing Battery Charging Methods For iWatch - Solar and Motion

Rumours suggest Apple is testing various charging methods for the long awaited iWatch. Apple seem to be looking toward a charging method which doesn’t need the user to plug the watch in.

According to The New York Times, Apple is testing three main charging methods for the smartwatch. The information comes from a former Apple executive who claims the company experimented with the technology on the iPhone and various iPods.

The first method the company is looking into uses magnetic induction, the watch would be placed on a charging plate and a magnetic field would create voltage to charge the battery.

Another method is using movement which in a way is similar to traditional watches. Apple filed for a patent in 2009 which used technology where the user flung their arms around to charge up the battery. Of course conventional non-smart watches have used gyros to charge with natural body movement for some time, but it'll be interesting to see whether this could produce sufficient charge for a smartwatch.

The final method is a little more sensible and involves solar cells embedded in screens. The handset would charge up power during the daylight to run the watch throughout the evening. Solar charging would take up a big portion of the smartwatch but maybe Apple have found a way to narrow the technology down.

Recent rumours about the iPhone 6 have suggested Apple is looking at embedding solar panels in the Sapphire Glass display - it's not a huge leap for Apple to use the same tech in the smartwatch too.

But then there are experiments currently being done to eliminate batteries altogether from portable devices. Researchers at the University of Washington are currently looking for ways where wireless devices use power which is taken from Wi-Fi and phone signals.

iWatch: Problems, Woes & Battery Issues

Here at KYM, we've been hearing so much drama about the iWatch that we're almost expecting a plague of locusts to descend upon Apple's production line. And lest we forget, we’re talking about a gadget that Apple has not even confirmed they are making yet.

According to The Information, the company has been experiencing problems with pretty much all aspects of the iWatch's development, notably screen technology, battery issues and corporate problems.

The report adds that Apple has not even fully decided on what type of screen technology to use for its first foray into wearable tech yet because of battery issues. Still, despite the setbacks Apple is still - apparently - on track to launch the iWatch launch this year. 

"None are necessarily significant enough to delay a launch, which analysts peg to this year. But they illustrate the hurdles the company faces before it can release its first major new device since its family of iPads", says the report. 

iWatch Production Causing Apple Headaches, reports suggest

It's the most highly-anticipated launch since the iMac - and Apple hasn't even confirmed the product is being developed yet.

But now, according to reports, the iWatch is suffering production hiccups.

Sources in the “upstream” supply chain have told Digitimes that difficulties in applying surface treatments on the site's metal injection molded (MIM) internal frame are causing the problems. The device, Apple's first foray into wearable tech, is apparently seeing a yield rate under 50% because of the way it's made.

"MIM-made components used to be used inside products, but as the components are now becoming part of the external design, surface treatments have become an important process for the look of products.

“Since clients have high demand over quality, and also need high volumes of supply, most component makers are having difficulties satisfying both of requirements”, the site reveals.

Qualcomm’s smartwatch is said to be suffering from the same issues. As TechRadar notes, DigiTimes reports are “sometimes-on, sometimes off” – but rumours of production issues are worth noting.

iWatch Concepts: How About An iWatch C?

One Apple fan has designed a good looking concept for the iWatch and even showed how it would look in the manufacturers stores. Artist and Apple fan Martin Hajek showed off the realistic looking images which involved two different models.

Mirroring last years two version iPhone 5s and 5c, the concept includes a metal case with leather strap iWatch S and a plastic iWatch C.

In the images the iWatch S looks professional, comes with a curved display and is shown using a compass application. The leather strap would be avaliable in both Black and Brown.

The iWatch C comes with a plastic strap, a curved display of a similar size is shown in six different colours. Those are green, white, blue, red, yellow and black.

Hajek said, Right after Apple launched the colorful iPhone 5C I figured it would be nice to have a look at adding color to my original iWatch concept. I added some color, simplified the design and basically turned it into an iPhone 5C for around your wrist.'

The idea of a plastic iWatch C is new and looks surpisingly good in the images. Could you imagine an iWatch C on your wrist? How about sat in an Apple Store near you?

iOS Meets Nike's FuelBand 

Concepts are great, especially when they’re done well. For the most part they’re designed for enjoyment, lovingly crafted by talented individuals and drawing influence from what they know (or think they know) about an upcoming product, usually one of Apple’s.

And every once in a while something special comes along – something like this iWatch concept from San Francisco-based professional interface designer Todd Hamilton, which channels iOS and Nike’s FuelBand in equal measure. 

Hamilton says the initial inspiration for the concept came from a similar mock-up that cropped up late last year.

“It was an impressive concept that got a lot of people excited including myself,” Hamilton wrote in a blog post accompanying the video. “However, it had a major flaw: The orientation of the interface made it impossible to use…I wanted to retain a slim form factor like the FuelBand and incorporate familiar UI components from iOS 7."

We still don’t know what Apple’s iWatch will look like – but if it’s anything like this concept, we’d be pretty happy.

In the words of Zee M Kane, CEO of TheNextWeb, the cross between a Nike Fuel Band with an iPhone is as “sexy as hell”. Be sure to hit up the link to see a GIF of the iWatch in action. 

The concept, from Berlin-based engineer Thomas Bogner, beats everything else we’ve seen so far – and Bogner thinks so too. As he says, everything else that “we've seen so far is either ugly or stupid or both."

He might not be a physical product designer but we think he’s onto something with the slim band design. Whether Apple would plump for a slim band with their iWatch – compared to the comparatively chunky Galaxy Gear rival – remains to be seen, but the swipe technology could be a winner.

Apple Gets A Deadline For The iWatch

Analysts can’t forecast everything, but some give it a pretty good try. Apple analysts in particular seem to be struggling to come to terms with Google’s Android Wear announcement. Trip Chowdry, an analyst from Global Equities Research, made some frankly INSANE claims when interviewed by CNBC.  

Chowdry said, “They only have 60 days left to either come up with something or they will disappear. It will take years for Apple’s $130 billion in cash to vanish, but it will become an irrelevant company… it will become a zombie, if they don’t come up with an iWatch.”

Really!? This makes no sense whatsoever. Apple has hundreds of billion in operating cash, one of the strongest brands in the world and, lets not forget, a HUGE handset launch in Q3. Smartwatches are fun but for the most part they are an aside to major handset releases, not the main event. That could change in 2014 with the release of the Moto 360 and Android Wear. Things are getting interesting in the space, granted, but smartwatches are still a long ways from being instrumental to a company's future. 

iWatch: Launch News & Release Date

An end of year memo from Apple CEO Tim Cook has been leaked claiming the company has a “big plan” for 2014. The message was meant for employees but inevitably made its way onto the internet. The memo included no specifics but said “we think customers are going to love” the new products.

There are rumours of a redesigned iPhone, larger iPad and the iWatch all coming in 2014. Cook wrote, 'We have a lot to look forward to in 2014, including some big plans that we think customers are going to love. I am extremely proud to stand alongside you as we put innovation to work serving humankind’s deepest values and highest aspirations.”

Apple recently trademarked the iWatch name, hired former CEO of Yves Saint Laurent, and is now aggressively recruiting engineers in order to get its first iOS-powered wristwatch to market for 2014. According to reports out of China, Apple's iWatch is now being put through pilot production runs by Inventec. Allegedly Quanta and Foxconn have been approached as manufacturing partners.

However, "low yields" have apparently meant that mass production is to be put back from Q1 of 2014 to Q2 instead, meaning we will likely see the device launching later in the year. The FT reports that Apple has run into ‘hard engineering problems that they’ve not been able to solve.’ In a bid to curtail a descent into development hell Apple is now believed to be ‘aggressively hiring’ as well as looking at potential companies – ones with experience of smart accessories – to acquire. 

The most recent snippet of info comes courtesy of KGI Securities analyst Ming Chi Kuo, someone with a good track record of accurate predictions.

Kuo published a roadmap of Apple's 2014 product plans based on his findings, and the roadmap details an iWatch launch with two sizes towards the end of the year's third quarter- virtually alongside a new 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and upgrades of both iPad and iPad Mini devices.

A note to investors accompanying the roadmap revealed some other interesting information. Allegedly the iWatch will have a "fashionable appearance" and will be available in both 1.3-inch and 1.5-inch size variants. Kuo says it will use a flexible AMOLED display covered with Sapphire Glass, and alleges it will feature biometric recognition, NFC, wireless charging and a 250mAh battery.

There may also be different variants of each size model at different price points, though how cheaper and more expensive variants will differ in terms of specs and features, but Kuo said the most expensive version could cost more than $1,000.

Then There’s WWDC

Apple has a technique with its new products. Unveil them early and make people wait. It happened with the original iPhone; Jobs revealed the device at MacWorld a whole three months before its launch in September. Rumour is Apple may do the same with the iWatch. If it were to introduce it on stage at WWDC, it could then wait until September to launch the device when the anticipated iPhone handsets will be unveiled.

If Apple does show off the iWatch in June, it’s likely to just be a quick glimpse and confirmation that Apple is working on the product. Don’t expect a full breakdown of specs or any hands-on coverage of the device until later in the year.

Apple is also expected to unveil iOS 8 at the event so it could be one very exciting year for Apple fans.

iWatch Price

With regards to price, analyst Katy Huberty reckons the iWatch will retail for around $299 – £185 – and will likely focus on complementing existing or new iOS features focused around health and fitness.

“Our working assumption is that iWatch largely will be adopted as an accessory device and, therefore, sold into the existing customer base, like the iPad, rather than to new customers, like the iPod or iPhone,” said Huberty. 

Apple iWatch Could Be Cheaper Than Expected

Apple products don’t come cheap. By the normal standard everyone has kind of assumed the iWatch will come at a high premium compared to other wearable devices. One analyst seems to believe the iWatch will come cheaper than anyone has predicted so far. He believes health insurers may subsidize the cost of the smartwatch.

That’s likely to be in the US only though. Timothy Arcuri, an analyst at Cowen & Co, said, “we continue to believe it is possible the product (iWatch) is backstopped by some sort of insurance subsidization model similar to the carrier subsidization model for the iPhone.”

He also predicted the smartwatch would be released in September to make it a big seller by the time Christmas rolls around. He continued, “We continue to feel this product will differentiate itself with existing wearable products primarily from a health perspective with a number of key innovations including noninvasive blood cell count and blood pressure and other more pedestrian features like heart rate.”

Acrcui believes if these features really do monitor health, US health insurers may sit up and take notice. This way the insurers can monitor your health on a daily basis and put your premiums up as and when.

iWatch And The iPhone 6 Dual Launch?

We’ve heard lots about Apples’ iWatch. Lots and lots and lots, so much in fact it’s starting to get a bit like the company’s rumoured HDTV – and that’s been on the cards since 2011. But the iWatch isn’t a HDTV; it’s a smaller device that does, in some respects, better fit inside Apple’s current ecosystem of products. 

Tim Cook even half-alluded to the iWatch during a Q&A session at AllThingsD’s D:11 conference, saying the wrist and wearable tech in general were very interesting areas for future product lines. And the latest rumour from China suggests Apple will debut the iWatch alongside the iPhone 6 in Q3 2014. 

Apple suppliers Quanta, Inventec, and Foxconn are all believed to be competing for iWatch production orders. 

Apple is said to be testing two prototype designs right now. According to the report, both units use a rather paltry 100mAh battery – Samsung’s Galaxy Gear uses a 300mAh unit, for instance – and support wireless charging capabilities.

“Battery life has previously been reported as being an issue for Apple, with iWatch prototypes lasting only 1-2 days on a charge and the company hoping to find ways to extend that to 4-5 days,” reports MacRumors.

Additional reports suggest Apple is looking at two iWatch models: a 1.3-inch version for women and a 1.7-inch for men. NPD DisplaySearch analyst Paul Gagnon also noted that Apple appears to have put its major television product plans on hold for the time being in order to focus on wearables such as the iWatch.

Apple is allegedly testing 1.5-inch OLED display panels for its iWatch device with trials being ramped up ahead of manufacturing.

According to the Taiwanese news source Economic Times, Apple has shipped 1,000 trial models to manufacturing partner Foxconn. Presumably this will allow Foxconn to begin equipping factories in order to mass produce the device.

Rumours suggest Apple is working with Intel on some aspects of the iWatch, which will allow users to link it via Bluetooth to iPhone and iPad devices. It will also be able to conduct calls independently and view maps and location services. Reports indicate the iWatch may feature integrated health monitoring along similar lines to the Galaxy S4’s S Health app.