Apple 'iWatch' hype is building toward iPhone-like levels

The buzz around the iWatch, which will likely make its debut in time for the Christmas shopping season, has been getting noticeably louder in the past few days.

Several media outlets have uncovered new details about the “iWatch” in the past few days:

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• The Chinese website Laoyaoba says the iWatch is now awaiting certification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before it enters mass production for a launch this Fall.
• Forbes thinks the iWatch has already gone into production.
• The Wall Street Journal said on Friday that the new watch will come in several different sizes, and will sport more than 10 different sensors in the band for detecting all sorts of  biometrics like heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen and glucose levels, and hydration levels.
• CNET chimes in with news that Kobe Bryant was seen on the Apple campus after having met with Apple design chief Jony Ive about the iWatch.
• The WSJ believes Apple will sell 10 to 15 million iWatches by the end of the year. Reuters believes Apple will sell 50 million of the devices within the first year after launch.
• Earlier this month, the Japanese news outlet Nikkei cited “industry sources” saying Apple plans to produce 3-5 million iWatches per month in its initial manufacturing run.
• The Motley Fool is saying the new wearable is being built by more than 100 engineers and designers at an undisclosed location near Cupertino.
• Quartz points at Foxconn’s rising stock price as evidence the Apple iWatch is real.
• Analysts have pegged the device anywhere between $250 and $350.
• Reuters says the iWatch will have “a large 2.5-inch, slightly rectangular” display.

Of course all the buzz and speculation, which will continue throughout the summer, is crucial to Apple’s marketing plan. The buzz must reach a fever pitch just before the launch of Apple’s new wearable device, and it’s looking like it will.

VentureBeat’s own sources have confirmed that the iWatch will support multiple sensors in its band, and feature a sleek, aerodynamic screen.

Apple announced its new consumer health data platform, HealthKit, at its Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month. The new iWatch would likely integrate tightly with that platform, reporting biometrics data into it constantly throughout the day.

The new device will be the first category-defining product in the Tim Cook era, and prove to be a make-or-break product in Cook’s legacy. It might answer the question of whether not Apple still has the vision thing, or if it’s just running on fumes after the death of Steve Jobs.