Apple Watch on track to ship in April, CEO Tim Cook says

Posted:
in General Discussion edited February 2015
During Apple's quarterly conference call on Tuesday, CEO Tim Cook said Apple Watch development is on track and expects to launch the device in April, coming in just under the company's "early 2015" promise.

Apple Watch Complications


After months of waiting on addition Apple Watch details, Cook confirmed the device will ship sometime in April, later than industry expectations and rumors. The Apple chief noted everything is on schedule as seen by internal range estimates and the project is in fact largely on schedule. The company considers the first four months of the year as "early," the next four as "mid" and the last four as "late," Cook said.

An impressive number of developers are already working on software specifically designed for the device, Cook said, though exact titles are not yet known.

Apple generated massive interest in its first wearable device when the Apple Watch was unveiled at September's iPhone event, but the company failed to elucidate on a number of key details, including a firm release date. In the intervening time span, Apple has maintained an "early 2015" launch, but reports of low component yield rates and other slowdowns cropped up seemingly every month.

Last week, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo forecast Apple Watch to hit store shelves in March, a sentiment shared by other industry insiders and rumor mongers. At the time, Kuo pegged Apple to ship 2.8 million units in the first calendar quarter of 2015.

It is unclear how many Apple Watch units Apple intends to ship, but Kuo said component suppliers could see shipments in the 4 million to 5 million unit range through the March quarter. He also noted a few manufacturers are seeing low yields on key parts, which is affecting final assembly rates.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 53
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member
    More time to save for the gold edition. :)
  • Reply 2 of 53
    mazda 3smazda 3s Posts: 1,613member



    Hope they can throw in some more battery tweaks between now and then. I know that charging nightly shouldn't be a chore, but I want a device that monitors my sleep patterns and I can't do that if the damn thing is charging on the nightstand.

     

    I'm seriously considering getting a Withings Activitie Pop; it would only set me back $150 and has a battery that lasts a year.

  • Reply 3 of 53

    That works fine, I suppose. I'd rather them get it right than push it out too soon.

  • Reply 4 of 53
    nobodyynobodyy Posts: 377member

    They should have said "mid summer" and then dumped it on us "early" by two months.

     

    But I suppose that doesn't hold off as many Smart Watch sales as "Early 2015".

  • Reply 5 of 53
    hentaiboyhentaiboy Posts: 1,252member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by RichL View Post



    More time to save for the gold edition. image



    I wonder what the melt value will be when Apple Watch 2 is released in 2016?

  • Reply 6 of 53
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    nobodyy wrote: »
    They should have said "mid summer" and then dumped it on us "early" by two months.

    But I suppose that doesn't hold off as many Smart Watch sales as "Early 2015".

    Had they done that people would have questioned why they announced it so early, I think it's clear they wanted it out in Q1 but I'm glad they're waiting. First impressions with this product will be more important than ever and getting battery life and bugs worked out before shipping is most important.
  • Reply 7 of 53
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    Apple changed the release date to spite Kuo. /s
  • Reply 8 of 53
    nobodyynobodyy Posts: 377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post





    Had they done that people would have questioned why they announced it so early, I think it's clear they wanted it out in Q1 but I'm glad they're waiting. First impressions with this product will be more important than ever and getting battery life and bugs worked out before shipping is most important.



    Don't get me wrong, I'm patient and would rather have a completed, well polished product in April rather than a piece of shit today

     

    I just think it is a little ridiculous. Even now, I'm asking why did they announce it so early? While I suppose it was around the same amount of time we waited between iPhone announcement and iPhone launch (maybe even iPad, too), the break of the years creates the perception of they announced it last year! When are we going to get it? 

     

    But anyway, like I said, I'm patient.

  • Reply 9 of 53
    adonissmuadonissmu Posts: 1,776member

    Hmmmm interesting. 

  • Reply 10 of 53
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Nobodyy View Post

     



    Don't get me wrong, I'm patient and would rather have a completed, well polished product in April rather than a piece of shit today

     

    I just think it is a little ridiculous. Even now, I'm asking why did they announce it so early. While I suppose it was around the same amount of time we waited between iPhone announcement and iPhone launch (maybe even iPad, too), the break of the years creates the perception of they announced it last year! When are we going to get it?


    Announced it early to give developers time to write apps.  

  • Reply 11 of 53

    Why do people quote Ming-Chi Kuo?

     

    ?It seems his anal-sys is just as bad as everyone else's but he seems to have some cred for some moronic reason.

     

    ?The best of the worst doesn't make him good.

  • Reply 12 of 53
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Mazda 3s View Post

     



    Hope they can throw in some more battery tweaks between now and then. I know that charging nightly shouldn't be a chore, but I want a device that monitors my sleep patterns and I can't do that if the damn thing is charging on the nightstand.

     

    I'm seriously considering getting a Withings Activitie Pop; it would only set me back $150 and has a battery that lasts a year.


    Yeah plug the thing in when you take shower and have your dinner, then put it back on when you go to bed in case you need to wear it over night.

    Based on your complaint, you can never charge the damn watch because you have to sleep every night anyway.

  • Reply 13 of 53
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    nobodyy wrote: »

    Don't get me wrong, I'm patient and would rather have a completed, well polished product in April rather than a piece of shit today

    I just think it is a little ridiculous. Even now, I'm asking why did they announce it so early? While I suppose it was around the same amount of time we waited between iPhone announcement and iPhone launch (maybe even iPad, too), the break of the years creates the perception of they announced it last year! When are we going to get it? 

    But anyway, like I said, I'm patient.

    I think it's behind schedule even if Cook would never admit that. And I think it's behind schedule mainly because of battery life.
  • Reply 14 of 53
    1st April would be an appropriate day for launch.
  • Reply 15 of 53
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Nobodyy View Post

     



    Don't get me wrong, I'm patient and would rather have a completed, well polished product in April rather than a piece of shit today

     

    I just think it is a little ridiculous. Even now, I'm asking why did they announce it so early? While I suppose it was around the same amount of time we waited between iPhone announcement and iPhone launch (maybe even iPad, too), the break of the years creates the perception of they announced it last year! When are we going to get it? 

     

    But anyway, like I said, I'm patient.


    "it's worth the wait" per Tim Cooks. I had mixed feeling when they speculated the battery life of 19 hrs, but still, I now believe that the damn watch will sell out quickly at the release and back ordered for weeks. With all news building up, I think Apple watch will be a big hit.

  • Reply 16 of 53
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post





    I think it's behind schedule even if Cook would never admit that. And I think it's behind schedule mainly because of battery life.

    Well, apparently they are producing it at 28 nm.  All the 20 nm capacity is used up with the iPhone and then everybody else is in line for the available capacity. Or they could have waited until 14 nm capacity was ready. But that would have been mid-2016 if then.  

  • Reply 17 of 53
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post





    I think it's behind schedule even if Cook would never admit that. And I think it's behind schedule mainly because of battery life.

    One month late will change for battery life? Don't think so. It may be more on manufacturing issue imo.

  • Reply 18 of 53
    A sport watch that can't tolerate immersion isn't finished; but just a prototype.
  • Reply 19 of 53
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by longpath View Post



    A sport watch that can't tolerate immersion isn't finished; but just a prototype.

    Lots of sporty watches don't like immersion. Let's not forget that it's still just a computer. Even if it's shower resistant, I think I'd still take it off. I wear my Jawbone in the shower because it was $40.

     

    ?Watch will not be $40.

  • Reply 20 of 53
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by longpath View Post



    A sport watch that can't tolerate immersion isn't finished; but just a prototype.



    My buddy's Jeep "Sport" model isn't immersible either. And it's not a prototype....

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