14 DAY TRIAL // A rumor spread by Venture Beat News yesterday was citing unnamed sources that were giving interesting information about an Apple and Swatch partnership to create the best smartwatch.
The Swiss watch maker would supposedly do all the design work and Apple would have supplied the technologies and sensors to turn the device into a styled fitness tracker.
We have published the story as "unconfirmed rumors" yesterday and now Reuters has got an official statement from Swatch. They fully deny the rumors about one or more iWatches.
According to Reuters, Swatch Group has denied the report and dismissed it as unfounded. The spokeswoman said "the only business relationship Swatch Group had with mobile phone makers was as a supplier of integrated circuits and other electronic components."
On the other hand, although the news was not verified, Swatch Group shares rose 2 percent yesterday. The Reuters report also cited JPMorgan analysts that believe VentureBeat's story was "questionable because they would find it surprising if Swatch launched products under its own brands to link them to Apple applications, as the report had suggested.
"One of (Swatch Chief Executive Nick) Hayek's main concerns over smartwatches, repeatedly stated in analysts conference calls in the last six months, is the possible dependence on software and applications from other companies," they said.
In a related story, Jimmy Kimmel, the ABC's TV host, got people fooled by an old Casio watch with an Apple logo taped on the back. This shows that regular users will believe any rumor and take everything for granted just because a device may come from Apple.
