Offhand comment stirs hope that Apple could announce 'iWatch' in Sept. [u]
AppleInsider StaffiWatch concept by Todd Hamilton
In a short blog post about Motorola's upcoming Moto 360 smartwatch, the well-connected John Gruber caused a stir by seemingly saying Apple will launch "their wrist wearable thing" in September, though he later clarified that his comments were a "joke" and not based on any inside information.
While he didn't go so far as to name drop "iWatch," Gruber's post on Daring Fireball leaves little room for interpretation.
It looks like Motorola's designers tried to draw as much attention as they could to the 360's stupid flat-tire display shape.
The only way this could get funnier would be if it doesn't even ship until after Apple announces their wrist wearable thing next month.
The comment was in response to a story from The Verge highlighting the Moto 360's wireless charging capabilities, as well as other miscellaneous information about the upcoming smartwatch. Gruber has a decent track record in telegraphing Apple's launch schedule, as evidenced by last year's prediction that the company would debut two iPhones, which ended up being the iPhone 5s and 5c.
Update: Gruber later took to Twitter to clarify that he was "just making a joke." He said that he has "no idea whether Apple is planning a wrist thing for September or October."
Apple is widely expected to reveal a wearable device, dubbed "iWatch" by media outlets, later this year, though recent rumors say the device has hit production issues. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iWatch was originally slated to start mass manufacture in September, but Apple pushed the timeline back one month for December at the earliest.
Despite the purported production issues, and a report from Re/code claiming an October debut, some still anticipate Apple to announce its smartwatch next month when the company will reportedly hold a special event to unveil the next-generation iPhone.
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156 Comments
I think I like this analyst!
Wait for Jim Dalrymple's "yep" or "nope".
Okay, this article is incredibly dumb. I don't think Gruber knows anything about it, it was just an idle comment about something that would be funny with regard to the Moto360. He's hardly making hard predictions. And here it gets picked up by AI with the random thirdparty mockup image that Gruber and friends made fun of just a couple episodes ago on The Talk Show.
Or you could wait for my 'oink' or squeal.
Ah, blogging. Sound like something people do right after they had their coffee in the morning. Really great story there Gruber. I can't wrap my head around it but I think I'm doing it wrong.