Apple's rumored iWatch is in the news again today. According to a new supply chain rumor, "Universal Scientific Industrial ( USI) , an affiliated company of Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE), has reportedly landed SiP module orders from Apple for its iWatch wearable devices."

According to the report, USI is the sole SiP supplier for iWatch devices, which are expected to come in three versions: one style for men, one for women, and another low-cost version due for release in 2015, the sources indicated. The news of the iWatch being made available in multiple versions was also echoed today in another rumor from an analyst in China.The first rumor about multiple versions was reported on this week by BGR.



Apple has two iWatch designs on record. One is for a wristband computer with a much larger display while the second design is more traditional.

The SiP modules will reportedly incorporate Apple's CPUs with other chips, including NFC, Bluetooth, analog, MEMS and flash parts, from NXP, AMS, Texas Instruments, Broadcom, Analog Devices (ADI), InvenSense, Skyworks, SanDisk and Toshiba, the sources noted.

The cost of each SiP module is estimated at about US$60, or 20% of the iWatch's estimated retail price of US$300, said the sources.

More specifically, the iWatch devices will come with a wireless charging chip from TI, NFC solution jointly developed by NXP and AMS, sensor solution from ADI and gyroscope from InvenSense. The wireless charging aspect of this rumor is of interest considering that it was first rumored back to May of this year.

Even though Apple's iWatch remains a rumored product, the rumors continue to fly in fast and furious of late as if it's a sure done deal. Another one surfacing today comes from DigiTimes who is already forecasting how much sapphire will be used in products this year and predicts that Apple's "iWatch covers" will account for 24.1% out of the 12.44 million mm of 2-inch-equivalent sapphires. That's not too bad for a rumored product. Some rumors are funny and some are rather interesting. Today's rumor concerning a custom SiP has some potential.



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