Apple iWatch tipped for release next month along with iPhone 6

[Transcendence]

The Moto 360. We’ve heard about how awesome of a smartwatch it’s going to be when it arrives, and we’ve even seen pictures of the fabled smartwatch that Moto 360 fans are becoming restless about. Motorola, it’s time to hand over that smartwatch. The longer you wait, the lower the sales.

 

Apple blogger John Gruber decided to poke some fun at the Moto 360 recently with a comment about the watch: “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.â€

 

There are a few things we can take away from Gruber’s comment. First, Gruber notes that Apple has a “wrist wearable thing,†though he doesn’t say it’s a smartwatch. What could this mean? It could mean that Apple’s wrist wearable may be similar to a fitness band or bracelet than an actual watch. Though, we’ve heard much about the 1.6-inch and 1.8-inch OLED displays that Apple looks to place into the new iDevice.

 

With that said, Apple could be after producing more of a Samsung Gear Fit competitor than anything else. We simply don’t know the answer at this point, but Gruber’s comment is interesting. He could simply mean that we don’t know exactly what Apple’s doing because we’ve not seen one photo of the fabled iWatch.

 

And, keep in mind, too that he doesn’t call it the “iWatch.†We don’t know how the name caught on in the tech press, but Apple’s never said anything remotely resembling the fabled name that’s become the common name associated with it. We think that, should Apple name it “iWatch,†the company should give kudos to the person who first came up with the name that’s spread like wildfire for the last two years or so.

 

Next, Gruber points to “next month†as the date of the iDevice unveiling, but this is nothing new; we expect Apple to announce its iDevices next month, and we couldn’t imagine Apple waiting until October to reveal the iWatch along with its iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3. Since the iWatch will pair via Bluetooth with the iPhone 6, September looks to be the ideal time to announce the iWatch.

 

While providing these little juicy tidbits of detail, Gruber also makes fun of Motorola’s Moto 360 smartwatch. If we’re honest, we’d have to agree with Gruber. Much hype has been published across the Web regarding the Moto 360: “it’s gorgeous,†they say, “it’s the best Android Wear smartwatch out there,†others have said.

 

Well, that’s not exactly the case. It turns out that we, like Gruber, believe that the “flat-tire display shape†is nothing more than a rounded smartwatch, and some will like the design while others won’t. Some of us here at Inferse prize Samsung’s Gear smartwatches, and happen to prefer a square smartwatch over a rounded one. We don’t all like the idea of having a smartwatch resemble the nerdy calculator smartwatches that became such a big deal in the ‘90s. Some of us believe that a contemporary watch deserves a contemporary design.

 

Some will appreciate what Motorola brings to the game, but the Moto 360’s been hyped so much that Motorola should really be ashamed that it’s waited so long to bring the smartwatch to the market. After all, competitors Samsung (Gear Live) and LG (G Watch) will more than gobble up whatever sales Motorola could’ve gained, had the company prized a quick release a little better. “They’re waiting to get it, right,†many have said – but how long does it take to get a smartwatch right? How many months of hype will customers tolerate before, tired in their wait, they decide to settle on something that, in many ways, may actually be better than the Moto 360 they’ve been waiting for?

 

At this point, Motorola’s drained whatever surprise its smartwatch could’ve made in the market. Releasing the Moto 360 now is far too late to the game, considering that the iWatch and iPhone 6, as well as the Gear 3 and the Galaxy Note 4, will all arrive next month. And finally, Android Wear is in its infancy. Sure, it may have about 25-30 apps available for use, but why would any user want to rely on Google Now to type its text messages accurately when Google could’ve provided an in-built, on-screen keyboard to do the job? Android Wear may be a powerful platform in days to come, but it’s got a long way to go before it gains the respect it wants.

 

With that said, we happen to believe that Gruber’s laugh at the Moto 360 packs more of a punch than the actual Moto 360 will – if and when it finally arrives. In the meantime, keep in mind that Apple will announce the iPhone 6 and the new iWrist wearable on September 9th, with a release of the devices to occur around September 19th.