No Apple watch until late 2014, analyst says
Don't expect to see Apple's iWatch until the second half of next year, says KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Consumers awaiting Apple's rumored wearable, watch-like device might need to wait until next year before the gadget sees the light of day.
That's according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who said Apple "may not have adequate resources" to develop a version of iOS for the device given its efforts to revamp the software as part of iOS 7.
In Kuo's note to investors, which was excerpted by AppleInsider and MacRumors, he adds that the components going into wearable devices simply haven't matured, potentially pushing manufacturing into the second half of next year. He also notes that Apple will likely go with a 1.5- to 2-inch screen, as well as make use of biometric security, presumably from its $356 million acquisition of AuthenTec.
Rumors of Apple's interest into a wearable gadget first heated up in February in a report from The New York Times, which claimed that Apple was "experimenting" with wristwatch-like devices. Bloomberg later followed, adding that Apple had a team of around 100 people working on such a device. Since then, there have been new patents pointing to Apple's exploration in the concept, as well as murmurings about rival products from companies like Samsung, Google, and Microsoft.
Kuo's been spot on about Apple's plans and timing of its 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro last year, along with iPod and iPad details. Before that, there were his accurate reports of the white iPhone 4 timing, Apple's discontinuation of the 17-inch MacBook Pro, and revamps of the MacBook Pro line in mid-2011. Adding some additional credence to all this were remarks from Apple CEO Tim Cook last month tempering any expectations of new products into the fall and "throughout 2014."