Apple Inc. (AAPL) plans slim, round iWatch, possibly with sapphire screen

An American source has finally confirmed that the iWatch is indeed an actual product, and has provided some details on Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) mysterious smartwatch product. Rosenblatt Securities’ Brian Blair recently returned to the United States from Taiwan, where, it is reported, Mr. Blair obtained some accurate information about the much-discussed electronics device. He issued a note to a number of investors and Apple related news sites this morning, sharing what he learned.

Despite several patent applications showing watch-like devices with square faces, Apple’s designers have created a round iWatch, apparently for largely aesthetic reasons. Mr. Blair further confirmed that the smartwatch will be slimmer than the competition, echoing one of the Cupertino company’s ongoing aesthetic and design goals of making their devices as thin as possible.

The analyst also provided interesting data about the manufacturing plans that Cupertino has made for their first major wearable product. Approximately 18 million to 21 million iWatches will be built in 2014, starting in the July to August period. This will likely put the watches on the shelf after the iPhone 6’s September unveiling, thus handily deflating the speculation that the iWatch and the iPhone will be bundled together. This is also a very robust number for an initial production run, suggesting Apple (AAPL) expects the product to have broad appeal.

Two iWatch variants are expected, which is frequently interpreted as women’s and men’s versions. However, Mr. Blair also indicated that an iWatch with a sapphire display was planned. This raises the possibility that one of the two variants is a lower cost one with Gorilla Glass display, and the other is a scratch-proof premium smartwatch with a sapphire crystal covering. There is just as much of a chance that the sapphire variant was canceled or lies in the future, however.

The iWatch’s exact purpose remains mostly speculative, however. Rumor points to it being heavily focused on health-related biometrics, which would also be a logical extension of the function already present in many sport watches. However, there is no concrete confirmation of this fact. Apple Inc. (AAPL) has hired multiple people with health expertise over the past few months, but links between this and the iWatch’s purpose are speculative, though likely.

Mr. Blair’s personal hypothesis is that the iWatch will replace the iPod also, based on the fact that the iPod was not updated at the most recent point in the product cycle when it ordinarily would be. This, of course, does not obviate the device’s use for health related activities also, and it is quite possible that the iWatch will prove to be multifunctional.