Apple has long been rumored to be prepping an “iWatch” that will focus on health features and establish Apple as a key player in the still-emerging wearables category. According to a new report from Chinese-language Economic Daily, Apple plans to finally launch the device sometime in the third quarter this year.
The report, relayed by Digitimes on Tuesday, cites an alleged bill of materials that points to the Q3 launch timeframe. The report also states that Apple will look to ship 65 million units in 2014, which would be quite remarkable considering the tepid response existing smartwatch devices from big brands have received thus far.
This could be another indication that the new Apple device will actually be a low-cost fitness tracking band or something similar, rather than a smartwatch.
Economic Daily reports that Quanta will be tasked with building the device, while TPK will supply touchscreens for the iWatch and Taiwan-based Richtek will supply some chips. The report also claims that Apple will design the processor that powers the iWatch, and it will outsource production of the chipset to Samsung.
