Tim Cook has announced the Apple Watch will go on sale in April
The Apple Watch will go on sale in April, chief executive Tim Cook has confirmed, saying he "can't live without it"
Apple chief executive Tim Cook has confirmed the Apple Watch will go on sale in April, slightly earlier than anticipated.
Cook announced development of the wearable is "right on schedule" during a call with analysts in the wake of the company's earnings announcement.
"I'm using [the Watch] every day and love it and can't live without it," Cook said. "I see that we're making great progress on the development of it."
Apple device sales rose 29.5pc in the final three months of 2014 to $74.6bn (£48bn), driving net income up from $13.1bn to $18bn in the quarter, the biggest ever quarterly profit reported by a company.
In a video message to retail staff in November last year, senior vice president of retail and online stores Angela Ahrendts told staff to prepare for "a new watch launch coming in the spring" - leading analysts to believe the Apple Watch, announced at the iPhone 6 launch event, would go on sale in the first three months or so of 2015.
Apple had previously said to expect a launch in 'early 2015' when the watch was first unveiled at the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus last September.
The Watch will come in three versions - the Apple Watch Sport in grey or silver anodized aluminium, the standard Apple Watch in polished or black stainless steel, and the luxury Watch Edition, available in rose or yellow 18 carat gold developed to be up to twice as hard as standard gold. Each model will be available in two sizes - 38 mm and 42 mm, with sapphire crystal displays.
UK pricing is yet to be announced, but the Watch will retail in the US from $349.
Apple results: the extraordinary numbers in full
IPhone manufacturer making $8.3m profit every hour of the day and sitting on cash pile worth $556 for every American
Apple has posted the biggest ever profits by a company anywhere in the world and is sitting on a record-breaking amount of cash, here is the rundown of what the technology giant's figures mean
$8.3m (£5.5m)
The amount of profit that Apple made per hour during the final three months of 2014
$18bn
Apple's record-breaking profit, bigger than the quarterly GDP of Greece, equal to Yemen, and almost as big as Denmark
£11bn
The amount on Britain spends on university education every year - Apple's profits could fund this
$556 (£367)
How much each American citizen would get if Apple's cash pile was shared out
34,000
The number of iPhones sold by Apple per hour during the quarter, equal to nine per second
78m
The phones sold by Samsung in its last quarter, meaning Apple - which sold 74.5m - is close to reclaiming its crown as the world's biggest smartphone manufacturer, which it lost in 2011
$651bn
The stock market value of Apple, which makes it the biggest company in the world
1bn
Apple says it has now sold more than 1bn products that use its iOS operating system
4pc
Increase in share price of Arm Holdings, UK company which supplies Apple with chips, following results
70pc
Increase in Apple sales in China, which now accounts for $16.1bn of the company's revenues
$74.6bn
Apple's revenues for the three months to December 31, which was also a record
69pc
The proportion of Apple's sales coming from the iPhone
45pc
Share of iPhone sales from the iPhone 6, according to an independent report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. The iPhone 6 Plus made up 30pc, the report said. Apple has not confirmed the breakdown
21.4m
Global iPad sales during the quarter, the one disappointing part of the results, Apple was expected to sell 22.1m