Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) seems likely to launch the iWatch smartwatch in the near future, assuming that the entire product is not vaporware being overblown by enthusiastic analysts and Apple fans. Today, the Economic Daily News of China claimed that 65 million iWatches are in the pipeline, being manufactured for a retail release in the third quarter of 2014. According to this rumor, an exclusive assembly contract was awarded to Quanta Computer, a Taiwanese firm. Various other Taiwanese companies will fabricate control elements, the watch’s shell, and so on.
Quanta Computer seems like a slightly odd choice, perhaps indicating that the rumor is no more than speculative fiction. Though it boasts an employee roll of 70,000 people, and thus presumably has enough capacity to meet an assembly order for Apple Inc. (AAPL), the firm’s specialty is notebook computer manufacture. It is quite a leap from laptops to smartwatches, though Quanta has handled smartphone production as a sideline to its main focus.
A more likely choice would seem to be a firm such as Foxconn, which has several years of smartwatch manufacturing experience and has already made an iPhone-compatible watch model. The Economic Daily News claims that Foxconn’s bid was turned down, however, along with a bid from Inventec. Of course, cost considerations could help explain Apple’s (AAPL) choice should these rumors prove to be true.
Though unsubstantiated by any identifiable source, the claims by the Chinese news outlet go on to describe how the iWatch will feature a sapphire crystal display. Sapphire would be well suited to an iWatch, since wristwatches are exposed to environmental risks and are likely to bump up against things frequently. Sapphire’s main advantage is that it is hard enough to be proof against scratching by steel, an important feature for a smartphone or smartwatch, which see much more “rough and tumble” use than does a computer screen or even an e-reader.
The sheer numbers reported by the rumor can be taken as either laughable or intriguing, depending on one’s viewpoint. If the iWatch is to be mainly sold as a separate, standalone product, then 65 million units would be grossly excessive for first year sales. This interpretation makes the Chinese rumor much more likely to be only “hot air.” However, if the iWatch is to be bundled with the iPhone 6, or included as an option at an attractively low additional price, then 65 million may be a realistic figure for the number required, making the rumor more probable.
