After Reuters on Thursday revealed that Apple’s upcoming smartwatch will arrive in October, featuring a 2.5-inch display and wireless charging, The Wall Street Journal came out with a new report early on Friday offering more details about the rumored iWatch.
According to the publication, the smartwatch will pack more than 10 sensors, including ones that can track fitness and health. Apparently Apple wants to do things differently with its smartwatch, a person familiar with the matter revealed, and to differentiate itself from the pack of similar devices that are already available in stores and which “fail to provide functions significantly different from that of a smartphone.”
Just like Reuters, the Journal also says that the iWatch could launch in early October, with Quanta Computer in charge of manufacturing. The iWatch would go to mass-production in two to three months, although Quanta will start test production runs in July.
One source told the Journal the iWatch will likely come in different screen sizes – the Reuters report mentioned a 2.5-inch slightly rectangular design – but the exact specifications of the device are not available yet, and will be finalized before mass-production starts.
“I expect Apple to launch multiple smartwatches that come with different designs as watches are fashion accessories. One design doesn’t fill all,” KGI Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo said.
Apple is expected to sell between 10 million and 15 million units by the end of the year, according to a person at a component supplier, which seems to be in line with Reuters’ estimate of 50 million iWatch sales in its first year.
