Continued production issues may force Apple to delay 'iWatch' until 2015, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claim

Posted:
in General Discussion edited August 2014
With a number of issues allegedly still standing between Apple and the launch of its anticipated wrist-worn device, the so-called "iWatch" may not even see the light of day until next year, the latest missive from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests.

iWatch
Artist's rendition of purported Apple smartwatch. | Source: Yrving Torrealba


Apple's efforts in bringing the "iWatch" to market represent "a much higher level of difficulty for the company," according to Kuo. Problems Apple is facing are said to include components, system design, manufacturing, and integration between hardware and software.

As a result, Kuo suggested that Apple may be forced to postpone the launch of the "iWatch" until 2015, though he didn't definitively say it was the case.

It should be noted that while Kuo has predicted Apple's future product plans correctly on numerous occasions, his track record when it comes to the release schedule and availability of those products has been less reliable.

For example, he correctly predicted the company's entire fall 2012 lineup ahead of time, and even had inside info on a more affordable iMac that Apple debuted this spring.

But he also made claims last year that Apple was planning to launch an even higher resolution iPad this fall before subsequently backing off that prediction. He also originally forecast the "iWatch" to debut in the September quarter, but has been pushing back that prediction as he has received word of internal delays at Apple.

Regarding the alleged "iWatch" delay, Kuo said essentially the same comments last month about Apple's anticipated 5.5-inch "iPhone 6," indicating that the so-called "phablet" model may be more difficult to produce than the smaller 4.7-inch model. Kuo also suggested that the larger iPhone launch could be pushed to 2015.

But up until Tuesday, Kuo believed that the "iWatch" was set to hit the market this year, albeit in extremely limited quantities. In a note issued late last month, the analyst said he expected Apple would be able to ship only 3 million wrist-worn smart devices before the end of 2014.

Wearable Device
AppleInsider was first to discover an Apple patent filing describing a watch design with flexible display.


In that note, Kuo suggested that Apple will face sapphire cover production bottlenecks, forcing the company to use glass screen covers for about half of the "iWatch" units it ships. He also believes the device will sport a curved AMOLED display built by LG Display.

The reports stand in contrast to comments made by Re/code in June which suggested Apple's "first wearable device" was on track to debut at an October event. The mysterious wearable device is expected to tap into the new iOS 8 HealthKit tools Apple offers developers, allowing the wrist-worn accessory to track and analyze health and fitness data.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 79
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Or… Kuo needs a way to back out of his earlier claims without it being his fault.
  • Reply 2 of 79
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member

    Noooooooo. Reeeeeeeeally.

  • Reply 3 of 79
    pazuzupazuzu Posts: 1,728member
    Maybe they realized no one wants it?
  • Reply 4 of 79
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    solipsismx wrote: »
    Or… Kuo needs a way to back out of his earlier claims without it being his fault.
    Didn't he claim that some iWatch models could be over $1,000?
  • Reply 5 of 79
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by pazuzu View Post

    Maybe they realized no one wants it?



    ‘They’ meaning ‘him’, right?

  • Reply 6 of 79
    smiles77smiles77 Posts: 668member



    Impossible. Tim Cook said that they would enter new markets THIS YEAR. That does not mean 2015. So unless we see a completely redesigned Apple TV (which I'm not even sure would count as *new*) or something completely out of the blue, there's going to be an iWatch this fall.

  • Reply 7 of 79
    I hope Apple releases an iWatch just so we don't have to hear more rumors about it.
  • Reply 8 of 79

    It must be nice to be able to just pull release dates and specifications out of your butt for rumored products, and continually change them due to supposed "production delays" and "supply constraints," and make a tidy salary doing this, without anyone actually in the industry ever calling you on your crap. He makes so many predictions and changes them so often that I honestly don't view his prediction of the 2012 lineup to be any indication of his connections and reliability. If you predict every possible outcome, then one of them is going to be right and you can just kind of slide the 99% that weren't under the rug because bloggers like AI will just refer to your successes and not your failures.

  • Reply 9 of 79
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member

    Oh, Ming... Your trolling is legendary.

  • Reply 10 of 79

    He only looks good in comparison to all the other analysts who are even worse :)

  • Reply 11 of 79
    smiles77 wrote: »

    Impossible. Tim Cook said that they would enter new markets THIS YEAR. That does not mean 2015. So unless we see a completely redesigned Apple TV (which I'm not even sure would count as *new*) or something completely out of the blue, there's going to be an iWatch this fall.

    Health and Home ARE new markets. I guess these billion dollar opportunities are too boring to be taken seriously. But throw in a smart watch and Apple is exciting.
  • Reply 12 of 79
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    Health and Home ARE new markets. I guess these billion dollar opportunities are too boring to be taken seriously. But throw in a smart watch and Apple is exciting.
    How does Apple make money off of HealthKit and HomeKit without first party hardware?
  • Reply 13 of 79
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by Smiles77 View Post

    Impossible.

     

    It’s impossible that a product Apple isn’t making isn’t being made by Apple? Wow.

     

    So unless we see a completely redesigned Apple TV (which I'm not even sure would count as *new*) or something completely out of the blue, there's going to be an iWatch this fall.


     

    Or, you know, something else.

  • Reply 14 of 79
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    rogifan wrote: »
    How does Apple make money off of HealthKit and HomeKit without first party hardware?

    The iPhone and iPad come to mind.
  • Reply 15 of 79
    smiles77smiles77 Posts: 668member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

     
    Originally Posted by Smiles77 View Post

    Impossible.

     

    It’s impossible that a product Apple isn’t making isn’t being made by Apple? Wow.

     

    So unless we see a completely redesigned Apple TV (which I'm not even sure would count as *new*) or something completely out of the blue, there's going to be an iWatch this fall.


     

    Or, you know, something else.


     

    To be honest, TS, to say that "Apple isn’t making" a wearables product at this point would be foolish. The question we're debating here is the timing of the release of said wearable. As to "something else", well, there's a reason I said "something completely out of the blue"; but my money would be on the wearable device, which I am referring to in my posts as the "iWatch" as that is the generally accepted name for referring to the Apple wearable device.

  • Reply 16 of 79
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    :smokey:
    solipsismx wrote: »
    The iPhone and iPad come to mind.
    iPhone and iPad are not new products. I'm assuming Apple is looking for new revenue streams beyond iPhone/iPad. I think they'd be leaving a lot of money on the table just leaving it to 3rd parties. Do you really think HealthKit and HomeKit API's without first party hardware are going to be big iPhone sales drivers?
  • Reply 17 of 79
    It's astounding to me that folks would sit here and hurl insults and suggest malfeasance at an analyst because of the horrible, unforgivable crime of changing a prediction, or OMG, being wrong. Do you know he's a terrible person or a deceiver? Do you work harder than him.
    Like I said, it's astounding to me how quick people are to condemn in forums.
    Just stupid.
    Ming-Chi Kuo hasn't asked you for anything. And in my opinion hasn't done ANYTHING to deserve a harsh rebuke. But all these "tough guys" in these forums are quick to condemn and rebuke about absolutely nothing.
    Really.
  • Reply 18 of 79
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    rogifan wrote: »
    iPhone and iPad are not new products. I'm assuming Apple is looking for new revenue streams beyond iPhone/iPad. I think they'd be leaving a lot of money on the table just leaving it to 3rd parties.

    You're not getting it. Apple makes money off their iDevices. Creating ways to make their iDevices more valuable to the customer, especially if they become more integrated with your life helps keeps a customer in your ecosystem thereby helping to ensure future sales. The iPhone and iPad not being *new* brand names has absolutely nothing to do with your question about how they can earn money by creating new APIs.
  • Reply 19 of 79
    gustavgustav Posts: 828member
    If a release date hasn't been set, then it can't be delayed.
  • Reply 20 of 79
    Looking out for 9/9/14....then all these rumours can stop about this useless thing that no one will buy, market is now already over saturated :-)
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