Apple’s rumoured ‘iWatch’ smart watch concept could well be a reality before the year is out, with new reports suggesting that Apple has much of its plans in place already.
Bloomberg suggests that the Cupertino tech company has been working on a smart watch concept for years, with design chief Jonny Ive himself in charge and very passionate about the project. We’re told that some 100 engineers are working with Ive on the project, which is expected to launch later this year.
Tech site The Verge has also weighed in on matters, claiming that it’s inside source at Apple has confirmed the information revealed by Bloomberg. We’re told that Apple has opted to use the iOS software from the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to base the iWatch on, although it’s not been a straightforward transfer.
Apple has been reworking iOS to suit a watch device and has apparently encountered problems with battery life, which could well push back the public launch. According to The Verge’s sources, Apple hopes to have a watch that can last for 4/5 days from a single charge, however current prototypes are running out of juice in a couple of days. Apple being Apple, this isn’t good enough, of course.
Read: Apple is working on a Smart Watch that features curved glass
The decision to go with iOS instead of using the iPod Nano’s proprietary software – which itself has been used as a watch by many with the square sixth generation model – is likely because Apple wants uniformity across its different devices, and because the watch will interact heavily with people’s iPhones, iPads or iPod Touches.
We suspect that Apple’s smart watch will be able to connect via Bluetooth to the iPhone in order to bring in notifications such as incoming calls and text messages, along with a host of other sharing features. We’re hoping that the iWatch, or whatever it will be called, will feature an option to control our iPhones and iPads – that would be awesome.