Apple could charge an upwards of $400 for its highest end iWatch, according to Recode. Apple executives have reportedly “discussed charging around $400 for the company’s new wearable device,” although there will also be different models set at lower prices.
Does that mean the top-of-the-line iWatch will actually cost $400? Not necessarily.
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Although it’s being widely reported that Apple’s mythical wearable will share the stage with the iPhone 6 on September 9th, that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to get your paws on it anytime soon.
Recode, the same publication that nailed the September 9th Apple event date weeks ago, is now saying that the iWatch won’t be ready to ship until early 2015.
Apple sent out press invites for its September 9th event earlier today, the date when the iPhone 6 and iWatch will reportedly be unveiled.
Corroborating an earlier story by Recode, Bloomberg’s own sources are confirming that new iPhones and an Apple wearable will share the stage.
Given that Apple has promised new “product categories” this year akin to the original iPhone and iPad launch, it seems odd that there won’t be a separate Apple event dedicated to its wearable strategy. Sharing an event gives Apple the opportunity to pitch the iWatch—or whatever it’s called—as an accessory to the iPhone. And that could ultimately be better for Apple’s bottom line.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has called the wearables product category — of which Apple’s eagerly-anticipated iWatch will be one — “a hard sell.”
In an email exchange with CNet on Wednesday, the routinely outspoken Woz (who recently turned 64) noted that smart watches are “go-betweens for your smartphone, but are an extra piece and need special advantages that the smartphone doesn’t have, in my opinion. If they are just a Bluetooth go-between then it could wind up in the category of Bluetooth headsets: Fun to wear and show off for a day.”
Apple will unveil its first foray into wearables at a special event in September, reports Recode’s John Paczkowski who previously reported that Apple had an October event scheduled for the iWatch, but the plans have changed.
Rumors of production delays have hounded the iWatch over the last few months, suggesting Apple might not even reveal the device until early 2015, but according to Recode’s report, the iWatch will actually debut alongside the two new iPhone 6 models during an event on September 9th.
Apple’s expected to announce its first foray into wearables this October, but a new report out of China is adding to fanboy fears that the iWatch launch won’t take place until 2015, with claims that suppliers won’t even start delivering components until September at the earliest.
And then it’s going to take months just to assemble a few million units.
Despite a planned October unveiling, Apple may still not release the iWatch until next year. That’s the latest from Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, an unusually reliable Apple analyst.
Re/code reported two months ago that Apple’s first “foray into wearable devices” was planned for October. Kuo, on the other hand, has repeatedly thrown shade on the idea of a 2014 iWatch launch. Citing production difficulties this time, he still seems unsure.
The LG G Watch has been on sale for less than two months, but according to a new report from Korea, an LG executive has confirmed the company is already working on its second Android Wear device. Expected to launch this fall at IFA, the G Watch 2 is being labeled a “serious game changer,” and it’s being designed with Apple’s iWatch in mind.
A comic book movie about misfit space superheroes might not seem to have much in common with Apple’s long-rumored entry into wearable computing. However, for a handful of reasons, Guardians of the Galaxy is to Marvel Studios what the iWatch is to Apple –- a high-profile release that’s critical to the company’s future success.
Here’s why.