2Apple iWatch
CiccareseDesign/Federico Ciccarese
The perception that Apple needs a new innovation has fueled the chatter about an iWatch. The rumor mill went into overdrive after CEO Tim Cook expressed a lack of excitement about Google Glass in a discussion about wearable tech.
“I think the wrist is somewhat natural,” said Cook. “I think there are other things in this space that could be interesting. Sensors are exploding. It will become clearer over time.”
In February, a Bloomberg report suggested that Apple had “100 product designers working on a wristwatch-like device.”
The Wall Street Journal was quick to concur that Apple was indeed experimenting with a wristwatch device and had already discussed it with manufacturing partner, Foxconn.
Engadget picked up on the curved glass rumor and dredged up a patent application for a slap bracelet that would include AMOLED technology, a virtual keyboard, and an energy gathering component whereby your body movement would help recharge the battery.
In March, Bloomberg suggested the smartwatch could be more profitable than Apple TV (surely not a big ask so far?) and that Apple’s head of design, Jony Ive, has a special interest in watches.
In June, Apple filed an application for the iWatch trademark in Japan, Russia, Taiwan, Mexico, and Turkey. We’re not sure how Apple will deal with the fact that the iWatch name has already been trademarked in the U.S. and Europe by other companies.
In July, we heard that Apple was hiring new talent to work on wearable tech.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested a late 2014 release for the iWatch and speculated that it might incorporate tech from Apple’s iPod Nano, specifically the touch technology, that it will sport a 1.5- to 2-inch display, and that it will make use of biometric technology.
A 9to5Mac report in July revealed that the iWatch team was cherry-picked from various corners of Apple. It’s no surprise to find miniaturization experts and power efficiency engineers among their numbers. More interesting is the inclusion of team members from AuthenTec, the mobile security company acquired by Apple last year, and responsible for all the fingerprint sensor rumors. The biometric angle was given yet more mileage with the suggestion that fitness, medical, and sleep analysis experts are also involved in the iWatch project.
The difficulties of operating a small touchscreen display have led to widespread rumors that the iWatch will support Siri for voice controls. This idea could date back to a 2011 New York Times blog.
5Google/Motorola Smartwatch
There’s no doubt that Google’s Glass has been the focus of wearable tech excitement, but that’s because we know so much about it already. Google has a lot of fingers in a lot of other pies and a smartwatch design is certainly one of them. We’ve already seen Android-compatible smartwatches hit the market, though they are fairly basic in terms of features.
With more powerful hardware designed by Google, we could see a device that actually runs Android and services like Google Now could offer easy interactivity. The context sensitive nature of the Moto X, with sensors that determine your desires by measuring your movements, could also work superbly well in a smartwatch. It could turn on automatically when you glance at it, and be ever-ready for voice commands. It’s even possible that Motorola will manufacture the smartwatch; it did release the MotoActv MP3 player and fitness tracker a while back.
For more on this smartwatch and all others in development, visitDigitalTrends.com
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