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Joseph Keller
While it's still expected to be announced at Apple's September 9 event, it appears that Apple's iWatch —or whatever they ultimately name their first wearable — may not be available for a while after. The time between the unveiling and launch will be at least a few months, with the device actually launching after the holiday season, according to John Paczkowski of Re/code:
Sources in position to know tell me it won't arrive at market for a few months. "It's not shipping any time soon," said one. So when does Apple plan to ship its eagerly anticipated wearable? That's not clear, but my understanding is that we're unlikely to see it at retail until after the holiday season — think early 2015.
While that would make the wait between the debuted and actual product launch at least five months, it's not unprecidented. The original Apple TV was first shown off in the fall of 2006 but didn't ship until spring of 2007. iPhone launched six months after its January 2007 unveiling, and the iPad launched just under four months after its January 2010 debut.
It could be that Apple wants to show off the integration between the iWatch and the iPhone 6, even if the iWatch isn't quite ready to ship yet.
Apple may also want to give developers time to prepare apps for the device, if they're supported. And, of course, Apple certainly wants to show off their wearable before parts leak or FCC or FDA approval processes leak.
The iWatch is rumored to include integration with HealthKit for health and fitness tracking, HomeKit for home automation control, and hooks into a new mobile payment system that could be part of iOS 8.
Either way, we'll know more in just over a week. When would you like to see Apple's wearable ship?
Source: Re/code
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