<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Gigaom]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[http://gigaom.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Kevin C. Tofel]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[http://search.gigaom.com/author/kevintofel/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Apple Watch goes on sale in April "on schedule," says Tim Cook]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p>There isn&#8217;t much more time to wait for the Apple Watch, which up until today <a href="https://gigaom.com/2014/11/03/apple-watch-is-reportedly-coming-after-chinese-new-year/">was expected in &#8220;early 2015.&#8221;</a> Apple will start shipping its watch on an unspecified date this April, it announced on Tuesday. That&#8217;s not early, nor late, but &#8220;right on schedule,&#8221; according to Apple CEO Tim Cook, who made the announcement during a conference call to discuss Apple&#8217;s huge earnings.</p>
<p><a href="https://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/apple-watch-dial-crown.jpg?quality=80&strip=all"><img  src="https://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/apple-watch-dial-crown.jpg?quality=80&#038;strip=all&#038;w=804&#038;h=536" alt="Apple Watch dial crown" width="804" height="536" data-attribution="Tom Krazit/Gigaom" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-871907" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://gigaom.com/2014/09/08/live-blog-apple-iphone6-iwatch/">Cook showed off the Apple Watch at a preview event in September </a>where it also launched the larger iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. <a href="https://search.gigaom.com/company/apple/">Apple</a> sold a record 74.5 million iPhones in the prior three months, with <a href="https://gigaom.com/2015/01/27/apple-earnings-jan-2015/">the handset line accounting for 68.6 percent of the company&#8217;s quarterly revenue</a>.</p>
<p>Clearly, iPads and Macs put money in the bank for Apple as well but the phone brings in the lion&#8217;s share. Even if Apple Watch is a hit seller, with its $349 starting price, it won&#8217;t disrupt the iPhone&#8217;s importance to Apple; mainly because the Apple Watch is an accessory and requires an iPhone to work.</p>
<p>Even so, Apple is hoping for a hit that will help define the smartwatch market. It&#8217;s too early to tell if that will happen since <a href="https://gigaom.com/2014/09/09/six-questions-apple-watch/">we really don&#8217;t know everything the Apple Watch can do</a>. The device has some health tracking functions, <a href="https://gigaom.com/2014/11/18/developers-can-start-working-on-apple-watch-software-now/">will support third-party apps</a>, Apple Pay, actionable notifications from an iPhone and the viewing of pictures that you&#8217;ve favorited on your phone.</p>
<p>Between now and April then, expect to hear a bit more about what the Apple Watch will or won&#8217;t do, and then, <em>perhaps</em> be ready to stand in line.</p>
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