A new report out of China says that Apple’s long-awaited iWatch could debut as early as summer this year, sometime after WWDC, and ship 65M units to start. But how far can it be trusted?
There have been many wearables and quantified-health applications over the past few years, but most have steered clear of proclaiming themselves medical devices. Some of the rumors about the iWatch (such as the fact that it will be able to listen to the sound blood makes as it flows through arteries, and use this to predict heart attacks) may sound a bit too good to be true. But the number of biosensor and biomedical engineers Apple has snapped up recently makes us think the iWatch could be a device that crosses over firmly into the "medical monitoring" category.
According to one recent report, a reason for the long delay before launch is that Apple is awaiting certification from the Food and Drug Administration to get the iWatch approved as medical equipment. Given Apple's recent announcement of the Health app for iOS 8 to collect and show data on calorie consumption, sleep activity, blood oxygen levels and more, plus the conspicuous absence of a health-tracking fitness band in Apple's last iPhone 5s ad, the idea that the iWatch will be geared toward health seems as close to a foregone conclusion as you get for a device that hasn't even been officially announced yet.
Apple is reportedly trying to lure top Swiss watchmakers away from luxury brands in its efforts to build an iWatch.
Jean-Claude Biver, president of luxury brand LVMH’s watches and jewellery division, claims that Apple has tried to recruit staff from his Hublot brand, along with employees from several other top Swiss watchmakers.
“Apple has contacted some of my employees – I saw the emails personally,” he said, noting that none of the individuals contacted jumped ship.
What if Apple’s iWatch is’t an iWatch at all? What if it’s a spec, like CarPlay, that lets folks like Casio and Rolex put an Apple chip inside their watches to make them talk to your iPhone?
Problems solved:
There have been many wearables and quantified-health applications over the past few years, but most have steered clear of proclaiming themselves medical devices. Some of the rumors about the iWatch (such as the fact that it will be able to listen to the sound blood makes as it flows through arteries, and use this to predict heart attacks) may sound a bit too good to be true. But the number of biosensor and biomedical engineers Apple has snapped up recently makes us think the iWatch could be a device that crosses over firmly into the "medical monitoring" category.
According to one recent report, a reason for the long delay before launch is that Apple is awaiting certification from the Food and Drug Administration to get the iWatch approved as medical equipment. Given Apple's recent announcement of the Health app for iOS 8 to collect and show data on calorie consumption, sleep activity, blood oxygen levels and more, plus the conspicuous absence of a health-tracking fitness band in Apple's last iPhone 5s ad, the idea that the iWatch will be geared toward health seems as close to a foregone conclusion as you get for a device that hasn't even been officially announced yet.
Apple dropped another heavy hint about its interest in the iWatch on Thursday, as it published a patent application relating to a smart watch-mounted pedometer.
The Wrist Pedometer Step Detection patent application is another example of Apple’s interest in health-tracking technology for future devices. The application describes a method for optimally detecting steps, which uses advanced algorithms to filter out much of the “noise” that might lead lead to it missing or inaccurately recording steps.
We’ve seen so many iWatch concepts that at this point we really just wish would Apple to show their cards, but here’s a concept of a traditional wristwatch we wouldn’t mind them aping a few features from.
Gábor Balogh says he was tired of all the super geeky looking iWatch concepts, so he whipped up this clever beauty that features modern smartwatch features re imagined in a classic, traditional analog watch way.
Check it out:
Apple is working on a smarter version of Siri that can interact more closely with third-party apps and services, according to The Information. Right now, Apple has struck deals with partners like Yelp and OpenTable for Siri, but the goal is for the person assistant to work with just about any app.
The report mentions how Siri can’t do things like call a cab or book a hotel room, both of which are common duties of real, personal assistants.
What Apple is allegedly working on would allow Siri to send a message through an app other than iMessage, or look up weather from a different source than Yahoo. The improvements Apple is making to Siri would also work well alongside the rumored iWatch:
Intel has reportedly acquired wristwatch health tracking company Basis Science for between $100 – $150 million.
Basis — which was allegedly shopping itself around to potential buyers including Apple, Google, and Microsoft — currently occupies around 7% of the market with its Basis Health Tracker Watch, versus competitor Jawbone’s 21%.
Apple is taking on “hundreds” of new engineers and supply-chain managers in China and Taiwan in an effort to speed up product development and offer a greater range of devices, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The Cupertino company has reportedly poached staff from HTC and other rival firms to create new teams in Shanghai and Taipei.
At this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the themes were – as we expected – waterproof phones, smart-watches and NFC (again). Samsung’s new Galaxy S5 was a high-profile example of the waterproof trend, and the company also showed its new Galaxy Gear watch, which looks pretty neat for a giant wrist-screen. And NFC is in every Android handset these days.
But how do these themes relate to the iPhone and iPad? Let’s think about that.
The Rumor: Samsung is hard at work trying to copy Apple's Sapphire glass display on the unannounced iPhone 6.
The Verdict: This is an early nominee for least surprising rumor of the year ETNews cites industry sources with inside knowledge on Samsung's meetings with manufactures, but we could've called it as soon we saw the Gold S5 with a fingerprint scanner. Or their Smart Case. Or their Chromebox. Or... you get the point.
Sapphire glass was in the news again today, thanks to a jump in the share price of GT Advanced Technologies Inc. — the company which will reportedly manufacture the iPhone 6’s sapphire display.
With contrasting reports about sapphire’s advantages over Gorilla Glass, along with counter-reports from Gorilla Glass maker Corning, we figured the time was right to break down some of the questions about Apple’s latest wonder-material.
The Rumor: Samsung is hard at work trying to copy Apple's Sapphire glass display on the unannounced iPhone 6.
The Verdict: This is an early nominee for least surprising rumor of the year ETNews cites industry sources with inside knowledge on Samsung's meetings with manufactures, but we could've called it as soon we saw the Gold S5 with a fingerprint scanner. Or their Smart Case. Or their Chromebox. Or... you get the point.
GT Advanced Technologies Inc. shares received a nice boost on Tuesday, on the back of reports that Apple will use the company’s sapphire glass for its next generation iPhone cover.
GT shares posted a new 52-week high of $12.72, while analysts at Canaccord Genuity also raised their price targets on the company from $13 to $15.
Apple is reportedly looking into developing a device capable of predicting heart attacks.
The medical sensor device — possibly a feature for the long-reported iWatch, if previous rumors are to be believed — would listen to the sound blood makes as it flows through arteries, and use this to predict irregularities.
With rumors of the iWatch and future Apple products focusing on health continuing to swell, Apple has hired yet another medical device expert.
Marcelo Malini Lamego joined Apple at the end of last month, having previously spent 8 years as the CTO of Cercacor — a medical device company, based in Irvine, CA, involved with the development of non-invasive patient monitoring technologies, including medical devices and sensors.
For the iWatch, many expect Apple to unveil the next big thing, the true successor to the iPhone in the wearable age. But a new report citing “limited by direct knowledge of Apple’s plans for the iWatch” claims that Apple’s wristband will be a much simpler affair, more akin to a Nike Fuelband or a FitBit than the standalone “holy grail” device previous reports have indicated.
With rumors of a new Apple-made “fitness app” coming to iOS 8, secret meetings with the FDA, and murmurs of more sleep and fitness experts joining the Apple ranks, the iWatch rumors are heating up on this week’s CultCast! Plus, a classic Nintendo game makes its way to iOS; Microsoft says goodbye to the one and only Steve Ballmer; and new job openings in Cupertino could mean big upgrades in battery life for future MacBooks…
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Getting Apple to dish on secrets is practically impossible, but if you’re looking for an inside line to one of the most powerful CEOs in tech, the house next door to Tim Cook just went on the market.
That’s right, even you could become Tim Cook’s neighbor, as long as you got a cool $2.8 million in the bank to drop on a condo.
There have been many wearables and quantified-health applications over the past few years, but most have steered clear of proclaiming themselves medical devices. Some of the rumors about the iWatch (such as the fact that it will be able to listen to the sound blood makes as it flows through arteries, and use this to predict heart attacks) may sound a bit too good to be true. But the number of biosensor and biomedical engineers Apple has snapped up recently makes us think the iWatch could be a device that crosses over firmly into the "medical monitoring" category.
According to one recent report, a reason for the long delay before launch is that Apple is awaiting certification from the Food and Drug Administration to get the iWatch approved as medical equipment. Given Apple's recent announcement of the Health app for iOS 8 to collect and show data on calorie consumption, sleep activity, blood oxygen levels and more, plus the conspicuous absence of a health-tracking fitness band in Apple's last iPhone 5s ad, the idea that the iWatch will be geared toward health seems as close to a foregone conclusion as you get for a device that hasn't even been officially announced yet.
Apple’s much-anticipated iWatch could use solar power and wireless charging technology to prolong battery life and make juicing up as painless as possible, according to sources familiar with the company’s plans who have been speaking to The New York Times.
One of the biggest challenges Apple faces in perfecting its smartwatch is ensuring it offers enough power to get us through the day. Its goal, according to earlier reports, is to provide at least four to five days of use before a charge is needed, but that’s no easy feat for a device that must be small enough to wear on your wrist.
Rumors surrounding iOS 8 and the iWatch are starting to heat up, including details of a new “Healthbook” app. Apple is particularly focused on fitness for its smartwatch, according to a pair of reports from yesterday.
Last night Bill Gates jumped onstage at Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to talk about how he’s curing the world of polio as well as the next big tech ideas – weirdly there was no mention of an iWatch. What begins as a gushing interview takes an awkward turn when the former King of Windows starts eying Jimmy’s MacBook at the of his desk corner.
Watch the awkward exchange in full glory below:
Despite the lack of concrete news available on the subject, we’re hardly short of concept designs for Apple’s eventual iWatch.
This one, by San Francisco UI designer Todd Hamilton, is among the best yet — a sleek design that resembles a cross between the Nike Fuelband and an iPhone.
Apple has chosen LG Electronics as its sole manufacturing partner for the iWatch, according to a new report from Korea. The device is expected to use the same curved OLED display technology LG recently debuted with its G Flex smartphone, and production could begin during the third quarter of this year.
Tech research firm DisplaySearch has published its forecast predictions for 2014 — and among them is the suggest that the next generation iPhone will feature a dramatically larger display.
We’ve seen famed Apple concept designer Martin Hajek’s take on Cupertino’s possibly mythical, believed-to-be-forthcoming iWatch before, but that was before iOS 7 came along. So Hajek decided to adapt his design for the post-Forstall age.
The result? The iWatch S and iWatch C, which have not only been updated to support iOS 7 (at least in Hajek’s head), but which have taken some new design cues from the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c.
Wearables are all the rage at CES this week, but everyone is waiting to see what Apple does with its rumored iWatch. The mysterious device has been in the rumor mill for several years now, but reports have started picking up more frequently in the past year.
According to The Information, Apple is running into problems developing its watch-like device. Specific panel technology isn’t mentioned in the report, but Apple has apparently had problems choosing the right display. A “sizable” team is working on the project, which was reported last year. Battery issues (which are tied to the screen problems) have also been slowing development.
Today Corning announced that it’s ready to manufacture a new 3D-shaped Gorilla glass for availability this year. The new glass is designed with curved phone and wearable displays in mind.
As the main glass supplier for iOS devices, Corning’s 3D Gorilla glass could very well end up in future Apple products.
