Design details of the Apple iWatch have been revealed by an analyst that claims to have got the information from within Apple's supply chain.

Brian Blair of Rosenblatt Securities alleges that his sources in Taiwan are insistent that the new smartwatch from the Cupertino company will have a round face, much like the Motorola Android Wear device, Moto 360.

It will have a "slimmer profile" however, and Business Insider suggests that the round aesthetic fits with the latest Apple design ethos. Icons and buttons on the iPhone are round, it says, so they would fit on the watch.

The analyst Blair also claims that the iWatch will go into production around July or August, which will set it up nicely for an October launch. It is unlikely to be ready for release at the same time as the iPhone 6.

Variant models of the iWatch will be released, most likely for men and women, and Blair forecasts Apple's production runs for the second half of 2014 will amount to between 18 and 21 million wearable devices. He previously estimated that the company would order between 15 and 20 million.

While it is a commonly held belief that Apple will announce its entry to the smartwatch and wearables market this year, it's worth remembering that Blair's revelations are just speculation at present. However, we prefer the idea of a conventional round-style iWatch rather than the Nike+ FuelBand or rectangular devices rumoured in the past.

READ: Apple iWatch tipped for Q3 2014 release date, alongside the iPhone 6?