From Mark Gurman, at Bloomberg:
Apple Inc. has hit roadblocks in making major changes that would connect its Watch to cellular networks and make it less dependent on the iPhone, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The company still plans to announce new watch models this fall boasting improvements to health tracking.
I suspect Gurman is spot on with his prediction that the next Apple Watch won’t have cellular, but did this tone that inspired such words as “roadblock” and “delay” also come from his sources? I’m doubtful given Apple’s long1 history2 of prioritizing battery life over cellular capabilities. My bet is the decision to not include cellular capabilities in this year’s model happened long before this latest batch of rumors.
- What Engadget had to say about the orignal iPhone in 2007: “The fact is, there’s only a very short list of properly groundbreaking technologies in the iPhone (multi-touch input), and a very long list of things users are already upset about not having in a $600 cellphone (3G, GPS, A2DP, MMS, physical keyboard, etc.).” ↩
- What The Verge had to say about the iPhone 4s in 2011: “The lack of LTE, a larger display, or a new design may put off some buyers…” ↩