A December rumor pointed towards a
possible March 2016 event to unveil a next-generation Apple Watch, but
information shared today by
TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino suggests a redesigned second-generation Apple Watch will not be coming so early in the year. That conflicts with
some recent rumors suggesting trial production on the Apple Watch 2 is set to begin soon.
Citing several sources with knowledge of Apple's plans, Panzarino says that while new design partnerships and accessories are a possibility for March, a second-generation Apple Watch is not expected. There is, however, a potential March event in the works, but it is not clear what would be launched at that time. New Macs and the rumored 4-inch iPhone 6c are possibilities.
To further back up his claims, Panzarino says supply chain checks have not indicated that production on a second-generation Apple Watch has begun and there's been no "major action" on the software development side that would point towards the possibility of a newly redesigned Apple Watch debuting in the next few months.The Apple Watch, introduced in April of 2015, is a new product category for Apple so its upgrade cycle is difficult to determine. With the iPhone, Apple introduces updates on a yearly basis, but if no second-generation Apple Watch comes out in March, it is not clear when a new version will debut. As Panzarino says, an update alongside the iPhone 7 in September is a possibility, putting the Apple Watch on an 18-month upgrade cycle.
As further evidence that an Apple Watch 2 might not come until later in 2016, we have not seen any concrete rumors about features that might included in a second-generation device and there have been no schematics or part leaks that we might expect to see just a few months ahead of the launch of an updated device.
Article Link:
Apple Watch 2 Not Likely to See March Debut