We know Apple is planning to release a huge number of products this fall but the timetable for exactly when each one will launch is still unclear. Barron’s flags a new research note from Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White, who has been meeting with supply chain vendors and who believes that Apple is planning to launch its iWatch alongside its 4.7-inch iPhone 6 this September.
“Our meeting with a tech supply chain company highlighted that initial production of certain ‘iWatch’ components is scheduled to begin later this month and there are plans for a sharp acceleration into fall,” White writes. “Given the trajectory of this ramp and our experience analyzing other product ramps at Apple, we expect the ‘iWatch’ to be unveiled with the iPhone 6 in September.”
There’s also another reason to expect the iWatch to launch alongside the iPhone 6 — White’s sources suggest that the iWatch isn’t designed to work as a standalone device and will need an iPhone with iOS 8 installed to really be functional. This means that it makes perfect sense for Apple to reveal its first wearable computer alongside its next-generation iPhone and market them as a package.
White also thinks that Apple will price the watch in the $200 to $230 range, which will make it around $100 cheaper than the first-generation Galaxy Gear was when it launched.
