Apple's rumoured smart watch and its release date have allegedly been postponed until the second-half of 2014.

Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at KGI Securities, has often published research reports with accurate information about Apple's roadmap and product plans, and he has purportedly just outlined his thoughts on Apple's smart watch in a new report from earlier this week.

Kuo's report described how the smart watch was suffering from both hardware and software issues, and so its release date has been delayed until 2014. The watch - called "iWatch" by the media and Kuo - was previously expected to land this year. Bloomberg, which has long covered the smart watch beat, even reported in March that Apple originally sought a 2013 release date, but Kuo now paints a different timeline. 

"Apple may not have adequate resources to develop an iWatch version of iOS because it may require big changes to iPhone and iPad iOS this year," wrote Kuo, according to MacRumors. "In addition, wearable device components aren’t mature. For these reasons, we think mass production of the iWatch is more likely to begin in 2H14, not 2H13 as the market speculates."

Kuo also tackled hardware specs in his report and claimed the iWatch would feature a 1.5 to 2-inch display from a Japanese or Korean supplier, which would closely align with a recent report by Macotakara that asserted Apple has tested 1.5-inch OLED displays. Kuo also said the iWatch would sport integration with other Apple products, biometrics for user identification and health care applications, and key iPod nano components.

"iWatch may use iPod nano’s GF2 touch technology and AP," Kuo explained. "Currently, the iPod nano uses the same GF2 touch technology as used by the iPad mini. Since the size and computing ability requirements of the iWatch are similar to those of the iPod nano, we think iWatch will use iPod nano’s GF2 touch technology and AP."

Additional rumours regarding the iWatch include a flexible display. Aside from dozens of Apple patent applications with the word “wrist”, such as one about a device with a flexible screen powered by kinetic energy, the New York Times reported this year that Apple was experimenting with a wristwatch made of curved glass like Corning's flexible Willow Glass. The Wall Street Journal added fuel to the flames and said Apple was in talks with manufacturing partner Foxconn to work on technology beyond the handset and tablet.

The iWatch has not been officially confirmed by Apple, so its 2014 release date and existence are also not verified, but CEO Tim Cook addressed the company's product pipeline during the Q2 2013 earnings call and indicated new products were coming. 

"I’m just saying we’ve got really great stuff coming in the fall, and across all of 2014," said Cook.