Apple Watch set for April release, Tim Cook confirms

Much anticipated wearable device due in the spring

Apple will begin shipping the highly anticipated Apple Watch wearable device from April, chief executive Tim Cook has confirmed.

Cook said during an earnings call to discuss Apple's blockbuster Q1 results for 2015 that the Watch is on track for an April launch and that developers are already creating apps for the device.

"Development for Apple Watch is right on schedule and we expect to begin shipping in April," he said.

"Developers are hard at work on apps, notifications and information summaries that we call Glances, all designed specifically for the Watch's user interface.

"The creativity and software innovation going on around Apple Watch is incredibly exciting and we can't wait for our customers to experience them when Apple Watch becomes available."

Cook also denied that an April shipping date represented a slip in delivery for the Watch, claiming that Apple had always planned to ship the device during the first four months of the year.

"What we had been saying was early 2015, and we sort of look at the year and think of early as the first four months, mid is the next four months and late is the final four months," he said.

"And so to us it's sort of within the range and it's basically when we thought."

Cook added that he uses the Watch every day and has high hopes for its success when released later this year.

"I'm using it every day and love it and I can't live without it. So I see that we're making great progress on the development of it," he said.

"The number of developers that are writing apps for it is impressive and we're seeing some incredible innovation coming out there."

The comments came during the firm's Q1 results call, in which Apple reported a staggering 74 million iPhone sales in the period, leading to overall revenues of $74.6bn and profits of $18bn.

"On average we sold over 34,000 iPhones every hour, 24 hours a day, every day of the quarter," Cook boasted.