Apple Watch Said to Launch in February in Limited Quantities

Apple watch versions

The Apple Watch was officially announced on September 9, but there have been only speculations about its release date. Apple was careful enough to state a potential launch date of early 2015 as the device is a work in progress, but the latest rumour from the Far East claims to have more specific information about the launch date.

Citing its sources, the Chinese site Feng claims (via 9to5Mac) that Apple aims for a February launch of its wearable device. That is apparently in line with The Information’s report estimating a (possible) Valentine’s Day launch of the Apple Watch.

Although rumours of sapphire supply were previously connected to the iPhone — because the blogosphere was expecting a sapphire glass iPhone 6 — it now seems that the limited supply of sapphire output of GT Advanced will affect the availability of the Apple Watch as well.

What this means is the Apple Watch may be available in February, but in limited supply, thanks to the low sapphire supply. The good news is that the Apple Watch Sport version does not include such material as it uses strengthened Ion-X glass.

Unfortunately, the allegedly high-end version, Apple Watch, and the Apple Watch Edition are made by using sapphire crystal, so their availability will likely be affected throughout much of next year.

The device is said to enter mass production in January of next year, with Quanta rumoured to be Apple’s single partner. Until then, Apple has time to polish the product’s key features, such as battery life, which is said to be only one day.

P.S. - Like our news? Support the site with a coffee/beer. Or shop with our Amazon link. We use affiliate links when possible--thank you for supporting independent media.