Previous reports indicated that within January, the Apple Watch 2 will be undergoing trial production, which looks to determine if there are issues with the production process of a device before the final version hits the market.
Trial production is nowhere near as large-scale as mass production, but it usually means that a market-ready version of the device will be released a few months afterwards if everything goes well. This would mean that, if the reports are true, the Apple Watch 2 could be found on shelves sometime within the second quarter of the year.
The projected launch date of the Apple Watch 2 falls in line with expectations that the new version of Apple's wearable device could be announced at an upcoming company event in March.
However, TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino is skeptical that the Apple Watch 2 will be out so soon, as he has received indications from several sources that the wearable device will not be announced in March, contrary to reports.
Panzarino noted that perhaps news on the Apple Watch such as accessories and design partnerships could be unveiled at the March event, but most likely not the Apple Watch 2.
"I could be wrong, of course, but I've heard enough to put it out there," Panzarino added.
Panzarino said that when he spoke to Ben Bajarin, an analyst for Creative Strategies, Bajarin said that inquiries into supply chains reveal no movement, which would indicate any upcoming production of a new model of the Apple Watch.
Bajarin added that, with the cuts on the supply chain from Apple's component manufacturers, the supposed timing for the production and release of the Apple Watch 2 for March seems suspect, as orders for the new product would have been placed in late 2015.
Bajarin noted that with the first Apple Watch, the device was not predicted through the supply chain, so it is also possible that the Apple Watch 2 is in the works but no clues can be derived from Apple's suppliers. However, the suppliers of Apple have released soft revenue warnings ahead, which would not be the case if they were indeed involved in the production of the Apple Watch 2.
There has also been no indication on the software front that the wearable is coming soon, making it very unlikely that the Apple Watch 2 would find its way to the wrists of users in March.
