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
GO APPLE!
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.
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!
The Moto 360 is the one to beat.
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.