Apple iWatch Release Date Delayed To November Due To Sapphire Glass (VIDEO): Reports

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) watchers have predicted that the long-awaited iWatch will have its mass production date pushed back to November, a delay that’s been blamed on the slender hardware design.

“We have pushed back our estimated time of iWatch mass production from late-September to mid/late-November. We also lower our forecast of iWatch 2014 shipments by 40% to 3 mn units,” KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, said in a research note Thursday, which was cited by website 9to5mac.

“We believe the rumored iWatch will be Apple’s most important product this year, carrying much more weight than iPhone 6, as market feedback for the product should reveal whether Apple still has the ability to continue making game-changing products with Tim Cook at the helm,” Kuo has previously said.

All signs point to Apple’s sapphire glass display as the cause of the delay, according to reports. The updated technology, which is also expected to be part of the iPhone 6, has been the subject of YouTube videos, where users have failed to break the screen even after bending it beneath their shoe, scratching it with keys and hacking at it with a knife.

Mark Gurman, an editor at the website, 9 to 5 Mac, tweeted that Kuo is more respected for predicting Apple's product plans than timing when Apple products will actually be released. Some earlier reports have predicted the iWatch would be available for wide release in October.