March 9 To Bring More Apple Watch News, Citi Predicts

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) on Thursday sent out its "Spring Forward" Media Event invites. Speculation about what gadgets will be presented has already arisen. In a report published Thursday evening, Citi analysts Jim Suva and Asiya Merchant provided a summary of what they expect to see on March 9.

• 1) Citi expects the "Spring Forward" to be an Apple Watch event. "The only hint in the invite are the words ‘Spring forward' – the report says. We note that U.S daylight savings time begins the day before, on Sunday, March 8th –an appropriate time-related hint indeed, as people roll their watches forward one hour."
• 2) The analysts think that Apple will provide specifics on the launch time, price and geographic locations. They estimate the launch will take place on April 16; for prices of $350, $550 and $950. The analysts estimate the introduction will be first limited to the U.S., followed by Europe and Asia in the subsequent months.
• 3) Not only does Citi expect the Apple Watch to be presented, but also, "a flurry of fashionable accessories including various colors and materials (…) starting at $29 and ranging over several hundred dollars."
• 4) Some of the anticipated features include: "Apple Pay, adjustable notifications due to personal frequency and preferences, Apple Health, variable haptic feedback, and battery life of one day (under normal use)."
• 5) Citi predicts the purchase locations will be Apple retail stores and the Apple online store only.
• 6) Suva and Merchant think that the Apple Watch launch will be accompanied by the release of hundreds of applications "ranging from social, financial, health, sports and news etc.)"