According to the latest round of Apple Watch rumors available on AppleInsider, sources close to the firm are claiming that the next-generation iteration of the Apple Watch may be going into trial production later this month — meaning a 2016 release could be possible.
Taiwan’s Commercial Times further reports that other partners — the usual players of Foxconn, Inventec and Wistron — could be tapped to up production capacity if necessary.
A trial production run is meant to find problems and fix them within a small batch; it is generally considered a forerunner of a larger push to production.
Quanta’s chairman had suggested in November 2015 that the second coming of the Apple Watch might be available as early as Q2 2016, putting its market debut sometime in the April to June range. Most estimates are betting on the earlier April timeline since rumors are already circulating that a release event is planned for March of this year.
Other than the Watch, few leaks are emerging about other product upgrades — though generally such advance notices are less common for any non-iPhone product. Current rumors are around longer battery life and ease of use in direct sunlight.
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