Rumors and leaks for the next Apple Watch are already hitting the circuit, with an executive at manufacturer Quanta telling the world that Apple will ship the next Apple Watch near the end of the second quarter of 2016, with volume shipments early in the next quarter.
We have long noted that Apple's supply chain is so vast, with so many people working in it, that leaks are simply impossible to quash. As part of that reality, the closer we get to a product's release, the more accurate those leaks have proven to be.
But these comments came not from a worker or mid-level manager, but Quanta Chairman Barry Lam. As such, we should likely give them a larger amount of credence than we would otherwise give to comments five or so months out from a rumored launch.
United Daily News reported (via AppleInsider) the comments, which were made in France. DigiTimes separately reported that analysts asked about those comments during Quanta's quarterly conference call, but that Mr. Lam declined to comment on more specific questions about Apple Watch.
The last part of this equation, though, is that the end of the second quarter of 2016 would be right about one year after the Apple Watch first shipped. Combined with the high level nature of Mr. Lam's comments, it's a fair bet that Apple will ship the next version within the time frame he laid out.
[Update: The article was corrected to refer to Q2 2016. - Editor]