Apple's iWatch to be priced at $199, will launch in 2014: analyst

Samsung may be the first off the blocks but it could have some serious competition pretty soon. Apple’s smartwatch is on the way and will be released in 2014, if a report by CIMB Securities analyst Wanli Wang is to be believed.

According to a report by Agence France-Presse Wanli has said that two Taiwanese electronics firms Inventec and Quanta have received orders to make the watch.

The report quotes Wang as saying “Apple is likely to introduce ‘iWatch’ in 2014. From our channel checks, Inventec is the major assembly source for ‘iWatch’, with about 60 percent of order allocation.”

The report adds that CIMB projects 63.4 million units of “iWatch” shipments in the year after its launch. The price of the watch is expected to be $199.

Wearable smart-devices are seen as the future of technology. In fact tomorrow, Samsung will reveal its own smartwatch the Galaxy Gear, at the special event in Berlin.

Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smartwatch is rumoured to have a OLED display and square screen, Bluetooth connectivity, Wi-Fi, over 10 hours battery life and a 4-megapixel camera built into the strap along with tiny speakers in the clasp.

Apple’s iWatch if and when it is launched in 2014 will be out nearly a year after rival Samsung’s smartwatch. Will the iWatch give the Galaxy Gear a run for its money? We’ll have to wait and see.