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Smartwatches

iWatch reportedly set to debut in September

By Will Shanklin
August 27, 2014
iWatch reportedly set to debut in September
This render is just Gizmag having fun with Photoshop; Apple's wearable will probably look nothing like this
This render is just Gizmag having fun with Photoshop; Apple's wearable will probably look nothing like this
View 1 Image
This render is just Gizmag having fun with Photoshop; Apple's wearable will probably look nothing like this
1/1
This render is just Gizmag having fun with Photoshop; Apple's wearable will probably look nothing like this

Apple's iWatch has been the longest-rumored product since ... well, probably since that fabled iTV that never materialized. But it looks like the Apple wearable is going to become official – very soon.

According to a report from Re/Code, Apple is set to announce its wearable device at its upcoming iPhone event in September. Though invites haven't gone out yet, the same publication previously reported that the event would happen on September 9.

Even if the device debuts in September, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will ship soon after. Apple has historically given its new products time to percolate in the public consciousness before hitting store shelves. For example, Steve Jobs previewed the original iPhone in January of 2007, but it didn't ship until late June. The first iPad debuted in late January of 2010 and shipped in early April.

Though long ago christened by the press as the "iWatch," there hasn't been any official confirmation on what the wrist-worn device will be called. The scuttlebutt has been consistent, though, on the fact that the wearable will have a heavy focus on health and fitness. Re/Code reiterated this by mentioning that the device will integrate with both HealthKit, Apple's fitness platform set to debut in iOS 8, and HomeKit. The latter is devoted more to home-connected devices, also known as the internet of things.

Smartwatches, including Android Wear, have yet to make the mainstream splash that OEMs have been hoping for. But, if past is prologue, an Apple wearable could be just the catalyst that the product category needs to take off.

Source: Re/Code

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6 comments
Will Shanklin
Will Shanklin is New Atlas' VR and Mobile Editor, and has been part of the team since 2012. He covers a broad range of consumer tech, including virtual reality hardware and software, smartphones, tablets, laptops and smartwatches.

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6 comments
zevulon
don't worry , wehn it bombs and no one buys it, apple has enough money to just buy it with stealth buyers and give enough away so it doesn't look like a total fiasco like google glass.
GO APPLE!
Anne Ominous
I am looking for a bit deeper thought than what went into past "smart watch" designs.
In order for me to want it, it has to either [A] do a lot of what my phone does already (WITHOUT needing to be connected to a phone), or [B] do things that actually augment my phone.
And by "augment", I mean doing something other than giving me notifications and the like that my phone gives me anyway. I mean doing MORE.
I expect that in part it will be a fitness gadget, which is fine. But if so, it had better connect to real computers, not just phones.
zevulon
anne smart watches along with nearly all 'wearables' out there are a complete commercial failure . Nike , with massively deep pockets kept putting money into this segment for years, until they realized it's simply a money pit.
the 'smart' everything movement is kept alive only on the back of cheap money , fast money, and low interest rates.
perhaps 1% of 'smart' device ideas are viable, meaning that there is a commercial reason for their success in the market place ( such a smart wearable medical monitoring system replacing a tethered system ) or, there has to be some very compelling reason to the consumer to buy one ( mothers obsessively tracking their children ).
about 5 years of marketplace history now shows us that the overwhelming majority of these devices , over 95% of them, are not only useless nonsense no one will buy and thus, unprofitable, but that the big companies with endless pockets that make these devices are usually unable to admit failure and change direction.
google glass is a particularly good example of this. Unlike lookcie and other somewhat similarly situated companies, glass has enough google backing to burn cash for decades....which changes the narrative from closing the product down and declaring bankruptcy to.......persistence!
Rann Xeroxx
My personal opinion is that Google Wear devices will be the most useful. Its less to do with the device but more with the backend systems it interfaces with and Google Now just has such a leg up.
The Moto 360 is the one to beat.
Mark Keller
All this negative yammering about smart watches reminds me of the same talk about beepers for the masses. "Nobody needs a beeper, unless you are a doctor or someone important like that." Beepers eventually caught on and then took off against all of the negativity.
A similar rant went on about the early cell phones, long before texting and display screens actually transformed the cell phone into basically a portable computer.
Smart watches will quickly find their way because, (just like the cell phone did) they will serve as something more than just what we see them being used for right now.
Cyndysub
This fad will wear out quickly. What would make it useful would be using body movements to charge it, fast computing power, speech program that actually works,Bluetooth or some type of wireless communication with the internet and Google Glasses for a display or something like them with better performance. Make a useful in the real world, wearable high performance computer with a phone feature so we could throw away our cell phones for something way better.