Recent reports from both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal suggest that Apple is building a Smart Watch device over in Cupertino, California, and that it will feature curved glass in the design.
Nick Bilton of The New York Times has reported on an Apple Smart Watch in the past, but has recently gained new information from sources familiar with Apple’s plans, who believe Apple to be currently developing such a product.
In his report, Bilton confirms that the watch will run Apple’s iOS software rather than a proprietary OS similar to that of the iPod Nano.
“In its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., Apple is experimenting with wristwatch-like devices made of curved glass, according to people familiar with the company’s explorations, who spoke on the condition that they not be named because they are not allowed to publicly discuss unreleased products. Such a watch would operate Apple’s iOS platform, two people said, and stand apart from competitors based on the company’s understanding of how such glass can curve around the human body.”
Following on from this report, The Wall Street Journal also reported that Apple is working on a watch of some kind, elaborating a little further by confirming that the company had even started discussing it with its production company, Foxconn, out in the Far East.
Various tech companies have flirted with the idea of a ‘smart’ watch in the past, including Sony and its Bluetooth SmartWatch device, although the concept has recently been given a new lease of life thanks to popular Kickstarter projects such as the Pebble and the I’m Watch.
The curved glass aspect is an interesting one, and signs point towards Apple using Corning’s latest invention; Willow Glass. This new material is ready to be used in products according to Corning CTO Pete Bocko, who told The New York Times that it would be perfect to use in a watch.
What could an Apple watch entail? There are many good reasons for Apple to launch a Smart Watch, and the list of possibilities is always growing as iOS and Apple’s mobile devices evolve.
The device Apple is testing could simply be the next iPod Nano, which in its sixth generation became popular as a wrist watch thanks to companies creating custom wrist straps for it. Alternatively it could run iOS and link to your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, showing notifications on your wrist, allowing you to make calls and send iMessages, and perhaps even control your iPhone wirelessly.
We think it’d be pretty awesome to have a watch that wirelessly controlled the music playback on an iPhone, which itself was wirelessly streaming music to an AirPlay speaker. What uses could you think of for an Apple Smart Watch?