Rumours last month hinted that Apple would unveil the Apple Watch 2 (name still to be confirmed), the successor to the original Apple Watch, sometime in March. A report out of China now gives credence to those reports, indicating that Quanta, which manufactured the original model, will now build the new smartwatch. In fact, trial production could begin as soon as later this month.
Trial production will allow Apple and Quanta to test the manufacturing process before it ramps up volume. If Apple follows a similar timeline to last year, it will announce the Apple Watch 2 in March with availability to follow in April. This leaves it with sufficient time to complete the necessary trials and ramp up production to be ready for the launch.
That Quanta will be manufacturing the second generation Apple Watch should not come as a surprise. The company’s chairman, Barry Lam, had already promised that the Apple Watch 2 would launch by the end of Q2 2016 with “fully upgraded hardware and software.”
It also appears that Apple will be better prepared to meet demand this time around. It will reportedly be able to call upon additional partners, including Foxconn, Inventec, and Wistron, should demand outstrip supply.
Rumours about what changes and new features Apple will add to the Apple Watch 2 have been scarce. Past reports have suggested that Apple could add a new video camera to the top bezel to enable FaceTime calls and improve Wi-Fi capabilities to reduce dependence on a paired smartphone. On the software side, there could also be a new Find My Watch feature similar to the one to find your phone. New styles and colours are also a good bet.
Source : G for Gadgets