A Taiwanese electronics hardware manufacturer will begin the mass production of Apple Inc's smartwatch this July in a bid by the American tech giant to keep up with rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, according to an unnamed source familiar with the situation.

The yet-unnamed smartwatch, which has been fondly called the iWatch by Apple followers, will mark the first time that the US tech firm will venture into a niche product that has not yet gained the confidence of many. It is not yet known if this product would be able to hitch up the company's profits amid slowing growth in tech devices, according to Reuters.

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Quanta's main work for Apple has so far centered on laptops and iPods. The mass production of the iWatch will begin July and the commercial launch is set to take place in October, two different sources said.

One of the sources also revealed that Apple's smartwatch will have a display likely measuring 2.5 inches diagonally and is a bit rectangular. The watch face of the wireless-charging device will have an arched shape and a touch interface. The US tech giant expects to ship about 50 million smartwatches within a year of its first release.

Like other similar products, the iWatch will be able to perform tasks independently, but messaging and voice chat functions will need connection to a smartphone, the source said. Like Apple's flagship iPhone, the watch will only be compatible with devices running on the iOS.

According to a third source, the exclusive supplier for the iWatch's first batch of screen is LG Display Co Ltd.

Samsung, Sony Corp, LG Electronics Inc, and Motorola have produced gadgets similar to the iWatch, but have not yet been successful in that arena since the devices are not yet widely adopted by users. Still, data firm IDC says the market of wearable computing devices is growing fast and is set to triple this year.

Many tech fans are hoping that Apple's entry into wearable tech will revolutionize the industry just like what the iPhone did to the phone industry in 2007. Based on some forecasts, smartphone sales will begin losing momentum soon as the market nears saturation.

TagsiWatch, Apple smartwatch, Quanta Computer, Taiwan electronics manufacturers