With the iWatch project apparently in full flow at Apple, Jony Ive is working as leader of the project, with over 100 engineers reporting their work to the British design leader. Ive has been very excited about the possibility of wearable computing for years, and once had his team buy a stockpile of Nike Sports watches for analysis.
The company is struggling with its stock price since the “lack of innovation” really hit the company. According to some reporters, Apple is betting big that the next few years will be the turn-around for the company. Many still believe Jobs’ shadow is haunting the company, with rumours of lack of innovation all stemming from the fact Tim Cook now runs the company.
iWatch features
The iWatch will apparently have a full blown version of iOS running, instead of the e-reader type operating systems we have seen on other smartwatches. This means it will not simply be a re-branded iPod Nano, which is expected to be axed after another year of poor sales.
Recently, Apple patented the design concept of a slap-watch, which would be flexible and capable of attaching to your wrist. This would have wearable computing, and we believe this will be the iWatch design.
The iWatch is expected to come out sometime in the coming year, possibly in October at their annual conference. This will be the first new market project they have announced with Steve Jobs hosting, we wonder if Jony Ive will take the reigns.
In other Cupertino news, it is suspected that Apple have given up on the HDTV project, if there ever was a project in the first place. Many analysts say Apple has been looking into the TV, but found no real way to make a machine that would revolutionise the market.
This is good, according to one Bloomberg analyst, who says that Apple could make $60 billion in 2013 if the iWatch is released, while Apple HDTV sales would of been about a quarter of this.
Wearable computing may only be around due to the excitement on Kickstarter with the Pebble project, but once Apple steps in, it may become the new market every company is trying to jump on board.