When Tim Cook unveiled the Apple Watch in September, the only detail he gave about when it would be released was "early next year."
"Early," it now seems, means sometime this Spring.
That's according to a transcript of an internal Apple video obtained by 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman. In the video, Angela Ahrendts, Apple's senior vice president of retail and online stores, purportedly tells retail employees that the watch will launch after Chinese New Year, which is February 19.
"We're going into the holidays, we'll go into Chinese New Year, and then we've got a new watch launch coming in the spring," Ahrendts said, according to an image of the transcript posted by 9to5Mac.
"Spring," of course, could mean different things to different people, though the season officially begins on March 20.
9to5Mac's latest report about Apple Watch's release date comes as tech startups and stalwarts continue to battle for your wrist. Microsoft last week unceremoniously announced the Microsoft Band, a $199 bracelet that tracks sleep quality, heart rate and how many calories you burn.
Samsung's $350 Galaxy Gear S, which connects to a cellular network and and has a curved screen, becomes available in the U.S. later this week. And FitBit, a California-based startup that makes activity trackers, last week announced a new lineup of devices, one of which is a $250 sports watch.
Despite the onslaught of competition, Canalys, a research firm, expects Apple will sell the majority of "wearable bands," a category that includes both fitness trackers (think Jawbone and FitBit) and smartwatches (Apple Watch, Motorola's Moto 360, etc.) next year.