Despite reports that the next Apple Watch will launch alongside the iPhone 7 series, a Drexel Hamilton analyst told clients to expect the next version of the smartwatch to be unveiled this summer during Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).
It'll be about 20 to 40 percent thinner than the original, Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White stated in a research note.
While touring tech outlets and members of the supply chain in China, White left a meeting with one supplier that gave him the impression that the Apple Watch 2 won't wait on the iPhone 7.
We left "with the sense that the Apple Watch refresh will not occur in September with the iPhone 7, but is more likely to occur within the next 2-3 months, and thus we believe an unveiling at WWDC in June makes sense," White stated in the note. "We believe Apple Watch 2 could be 20 to 40 percent thinner than the current Apple Watch."
White's impressions on the Apple Watch 2's debut tightens a window reported by other analysts who came back from meetings with Apple's supply chain partners in China last fall. Last September, Cowen and Company released a note stating that, after speaking with suppliers, it got the impression that the Apple Watch 2 would be unveiled during the second half of 2016.
WWDC 2016 would arrive just shy of the year's halfway mark, but an unveiling of the smartwatch doesn't necessarily mean it'll be available immediately.
The Apple Watch 2 wasn't the only product White delivered tidings of in his research note. The analyst also stated that production of the iPhone 7 is expected to begin in July.
"After a [year over year] sales decline in [the first quarter of 2016], our contact expects to return to growth in [the second half of 2016]," the note stated. "Production of parts of the iPhone 7 are expected to begin in July."
White also noted that he and the representative from the supplier discussed a "rough end to 2015" for Apple. Things are expected to be slow during the second quarter of 2016, before Apple begins to battle back from its first year over year decline.
