Analyst 'Channel Checks' Suggest iWatch Coming in 2014, Pricing Guessed at $199

According to analyst Wanli Wang at CIMB Securities, as shared by The Economic Times, Taiwan based electronics manufacturers Inventec and Quanta have won contracts to produce Apple’s iWatch. Wang's supply chain sources indicate that Inventec will produce the majority of the iWatch at 60%, while Quanta will handle the remaining portion of production. The report also claims that the iWatch will sell for an average of $199 and projects shipments of 63.4 million units in the year after its launch.

"Apple is likely to introduce 'iWatch' in 2014. From our channel checks, Inventec is the major assembly source for 'iWatch', with about 60 per cent of order allocation," said CIMB Securities analyst Wanli Wang in a report.

CIMB projects 63.4 million units of "iWatch" shipments in the year after its launch with an average price of around $199, while the "iWatch" project is estimated to contribute 19 per cent of Inventec's earnings in 2014, Wang said.

Supply chain sources do on occasion offer accurate information on Apple's plans, but they are also prone to sharing incorrect or incomplete information, so their reliability is difficult to ascertain.

CIMB's pricing and unit shipments also appear to be based more on speculation and modeling than any specific information, suggesting that they should be taken with considerable skepticism.

In the past couple of months, Apple has been reportedly been ramping up its iWatch effort, hiring new employees with expertise in health sensors, including fitness expert and Nike product consultant Jay Blahnik. Apple has also been filing trademark applications on the iWatch name in a number of countries, and is reportedly looking toward a late 2014 launch for the product as it works to solve numerous technical challenges.