Apple Watch Gets Preliminary Release Month, Price Point

Coming your way this April… the Apple Watch!

PC Pro has confirmed that the highly-anticipated and long-awaited Apple Watch will begin shipping in April of this year. The Apple Watch will begin shipping during Apple’s first quarterly results call of the year.

“Development for Apple Watch is right on schedule and we expect to begin shipping in April,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told analysts and shareholders, according to a transcript from Seeking Alpha. “The creativity and software innovation going on around Apple Watch is incredibly exciting and we can’t wait for our customers to experience them.”

Cook also did not mention anything about a staggered release, so it is being assumed that all consumers will get an equal chance at the Apple Watch.

There will be three different styles of Apple Watch, with accompanying prices: the Apple Watch ($349), the Apple Watch Sport, ($1,000), and the Apple Watch Edition gold watch (over $5,000). The Sport and Edition prices have yet to be confirmed.

Apple stores will incorporate a small safe — like those used in jewelry stores — to keep the gold Edition watches under lock and key. The Sport and the regular Watch will be stored in the safe overnight. The safe comes equipped with MagSafe chargers so the watches can recharge overnight.

CNN Money is reporting that the Apple Watch is doomed to fail even before it hits the market, at least by Apple’s standards. CNN Money claims that Apple is looking for the next money generator, with iPhone sales totalling 70 percent of all Apple sales, and the iPad being less popular. It is felt that the Apple Watch is not strong enough to sell the way Apple wants.

Despite a starting point of $349, a battery that lasts only 10 hours, and another device that can do what the Apple Watch can do (iPhones, anyone?), it is still expected that the Apple Watch will make money since you only have to sell three million watches to make $1 billion in sales. However, it’s felt that Apple is looking for another standalone product that will take some of the pressure off the dependency on iPhones sales.

Not all feel that way, however. BGR is reporting that when the first iPhone was released back in 2007, it didn’t even sell 1.5 million units. Yet, it is now the mainstay of Apple’s business. So even if the Apple Watch doesn’t sell quickly, Apple has shown enough resolve in its products to be patient. Besides, who knows what the second version of the Apple Watch is going to offer.

[Image courtesy of Apple, Inc.]