Although many thought Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) would go with a rectangular face for its rumored smart watch, Rosenblatt Securities analyst Brian Blair says it will be round. He cited sources within Apple’s supply chain.
Apple’s iWatch like Motorola’s?
Blair said he had just returned from a tour in Taiwan. He said his sources within Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s supply chain told him that the iWatch will look more like an actual watch. Recently Motorola showed off its round smart watch, which runs on the Android operating system. Blair said his sources said Apple’s smart watch will look similar to the Motorola smart watch except thinner.
As Business Insider notes, a round smart watch would make sense for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). After all, the buttons and the icons are round. So the round icons could make sense on a round watch.
Will Apple find success in the iWatch?
According to Blair, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will send the iWatch into production sometime in July or August. He also said there will be more than one model of the smart watch. It’s likely there will be at least one model for men and another for women.
The analyst also said that it appears like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is confident about how successful the iWatch will be. He said the company’s orders are more than what he had previously expected. He is predicting that Apple will make between 18 million and 21 million iWatches for the second half of the year. That’s an increase from his previous estimate of between 15 million and 20 million.
Other possible iWatch features
We’ve heard numerous reports that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will pack its rumored smart watch with health-related sensors. 9to5 Mac reported recently that Apple may have been able to create one chipset with multiple sensors in it. If that’s really the case, then it is entirely possible that the smart watch will have an ultra-thin profile—just the way Apple likes it.
We’ve also heard previously that there will be two different models of the iWatch. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said there would be two different sizes, which would make sense because the women’s watch would probably be smaller than the men’s. Previous reports have suggested that the sizes would be 1.3 inches and 1.7 inches in size. However, we also heard suggestions that production on the smart watch was already underway, and it seems highly unlikely that this is the case. Most believe Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will launch the iWatch in the fall, possibly with the iPhone 6.
