Report vaguely hints at ‘aggressive’ iWatch team hires, late 2014 debut

<a href="http://viptest.9to5mac.com/2013/03/12/more-interesting-iwatch-concepts-imagine-ios-on-the-smaller-screen-curved-displays/">iWatch Concept Art</a>

As reported by Financial Times, “people familiar with Apple’s plans” for the iWatch are claiming Apple has started a hiring frenzy as they ramp up development of the upcoming product. The article goes on to state that people close to Apple feel that “the timing of the hiring spree implied the iWatch would not be ready for launch until the latter part of next year.”

Back in May, we reported on KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s similar claim of a late 2014 launch:

Apple may not have adequate resources to develop an iWatch version of iOS because it may require big changes to iPhone and iPad iOS this year. In addition, wearable device components aren’t mature. For these reasons, we think mass production of the iWatch is more likely to begin in 2H14, not 2H13 as the market speculates.

On the other hand, Bloomberg claimed back in March that the iWatch was set to be released “within 9 months”, which would place the launch somewhere in 2013.

The device is still a complete mystery in terms of design and how it will integrate into the entire Apple ecosystem. We have covered many intriguing concepts that usually consider the iWatch to be an iOS device with curved glass. Earlier this month, Apple patented a flexible battery pack, which would fit perfectly into a watch-like shape.

The development of the iWatch is just starting to heat up, and many analysts and reports are claiming we won’t see the actual device until the end of next year. What is clear is that Tim Cook’s interest on the product category – it is “ripe for excitement” – is creating active development and pushing it even closer to launch.