Apple Watch will be Launched in Spring 2015, says Angela Ahrendts

Apple will launch its first ever smartwatch in spring 2015 and customers can try different models in store.

Angela Ahrendt, Apple Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores said that the company plans to launch a watch and there are chances that the launch date will be pushed forward. In a video message Ahrendts told a time frame to the retail employees.

The transcript required to authenticate the video was provided by a source. During a speech she told the employees that the holiday season is coming up along with the Chinese New Year, and the company plans to launch a new watch. She told them to conserve their energy till the end of 2015. 

Until now, Apple has been stressing on the launch date of its watch. Apple said that the shipping of Apple watch will start early 2015, although they didn’t mention any specific date or month. This broad time frame was announced in September at Apple Watch’s introduction party.

This broad date is also stated on Apple’s website and one of the Apple executive reiterated this date last month. According to sources, Apple initially had planned to launch the watch before or on Valentine’s Day, but currently the company is struggling to meet its initial launch date.

Spring starts on March 20th and it last till June, now if Apple thinks that late march is early 2015 then there is no change in the release date. On the other hand, Angela Ahrendts has clearly told her employee that the release date is after the Chinese New Year i.e. February 19th, so it seems the launch will definitely miss the Valentine’s Day,

The company planned to ship the watch in fall 2014, but due to some engineering difficulties the release date was delayed until 2015, according to a report. Apple is currently working on the device battery system, as this was the major reason that pushed the released date from 2014 to 2015.

Apple plans to create a watch that can last all day and requires charging only at night, according to Tim Cook.  However, Apple has managed to resolve the battery issue and they are now working on the time it takes for the battery to be fully charged again. They are trying that the battery gets fully charged in minimal time. 

Apple executives are already making plans for the retail strategies, according to sources. During a meeting last month, Cook told his staff that the company plans to train the retail employees in a manner in which they can help the consumer try on the watch.

The employee would be able to help the customer swap out different bands and sizes. It will be a new and exciting experience for Apple users, as for the first time they would be allowed to use the product before they buy it. iPods, iPads, Macs and iPhones are secured and one cannot use them without purchase. 

The Apple Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores said that she believes that retail based watch sales will make customer relationships better and this is very important for future sales.