14 DAY TRIAL // Reports are beginning to surface revealing more details about Apple’s rumored iWatch initiative, including alleged plans to have the device rolled out by the end of the year. One report in particular claims Apple is going full-blast with iOS on the device.
In a feature story citing analysts on the potential profitability of Apple’s iWatch, Bloomberg reveals that “Apple seeks to introduce the device as soon as this year,” according to a person who is familiar with the company’s plans.
The report mentions roughly 79 patent applications that include the word “wrist” with Apple’s signature on them, “including one for a device with a flexible screen, powered by kinetic energy.”
One of the sources, who asked not to be named, told the publication that Apple is considering to include features like calls, the ability to see the identity of incoming callers, map coordinates, a pedometer (for counting steps and distance traveled), as well as health sensors (i.e. heart rates).
The Verge chimes in with its own report citing a source as saying that “Apple [has] chosen to rework the full iOS to run on the watch instead of building up the iPod nano's proprietary touch operating system.”
As with any portable device today, Apple is reportedly already having problems with battery life.
“[T]he goal is to last at least 4-5 days between charges, but the current watch prototypes are apparently only going for a couple days max,” according to the report.
The site is also told that “Apple has some work to do with iOS on the iPhone, which currently has several hooks for supporting a watch-like device but lacks the appropriate interface or settings to make it work properly.”
That’s what Jonathan Ive is there for, and 9 months is more than enough time to tackle all these issues.