Apple Watch to Launch in April Minus Key Health Features: Report

According to The Wall Street Journal report, the final Apple Watch will not include the much-anticipated features like blood pressure measurement, heart activity and stress levels measurements, because of complexity and inconsistency found during tests.

The report noted that "When Apple Inc. started developing its smartwatch, executives envisioned a state-of-the-art health-monitoring device that could measure blood pressure, heart activity and stress levels, among other things, according to people familiar with the matter. But none of those technologies made it into much-anticipated Apple Watch, due in April. Some didn't work reliably."

While these features will be removed from the first-generation Apple Watch that'll ship in April, it is possible that Apple may include them in later versions, the report added.

Meanwhile Apple has a positive outlook about the Watch sales, as the company is reportedly looking to manufacture five-six million units in time for the launch.

"Apple is gearing up for a strong start. People familiar with the matter said the company is asking suppliers in Asia to make five million to six million Apple Watches in the first quarter. One of those people said half of the first-quarter output would be for the entry-level Apple Watch Sports and one-third for the mid-tier model, which has stainless-steel casing and a watch face covered by sapphire crystal."

In other Watch-related news, Apple has reportedly asked select third-party app developers to come over to Cupertino office to finish Apple Watch apps and test out the device 'on an urgent timeline.'

According to 9to5mac, Apple is holding workshops for over 100 different developers across February to finish up WatchKit-based applications. It also notes that to maintain secrecy Apple didn't identify developers by their names, instead labelling them by unique number identifiers.