Apple Watch launch delayed

Apple's first smartwatch, the Apple Watch, which till now only featured an 'Early 2015' official launch date, might finally hit markets in spring.

Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores at Apple, Angela Ahrendts, purportedly revealed the spring time frame to company employees via a video message.

The alleged video message was then transcribed and leaked (via 9to5 Mac). The relevant part of the purported announcement read, "We're going in to the holidays, we'll go into Chinese New Year, and then we've got a new watch launch coming in the spring."

The exact month or dates are yet to be known, with the US spring starting from around March and lasting until around June.

In September, another report had hinted the Apple Watch will be released on Valentine's Day (February 14). However, this contradicts Ahrendts purported announcement that mentions a release after the Chinese New Year (February 19).

9to5Mac adds that sources close to Apple's plans have revealed the Cupertino firm has already started planning the retail strategy of its first smartwatch. In a recent all-hands retail employee meeting, Tim Cook reportedly said that staff will be trained to help customers try the Apple Watch along with different sizes and bands.

Cook, while announcing new iOS and Mac products last month, also introduced the WatchKit software developer kit (SDK) for developers to build apps for the company's upcoming Apple Watch. The WatchKit SDK will ship in November, and with it, Apple wants to make sure that there are enough apps for the platform before it finally releases the Apple Watch.