Yahoo Finance What an iWatch could mean for Apple
For two years now, rumours have been circulating about Apple entering the smartwatch market.
There’s now less than 24 hours to go before Apple makes its highly anticipated announcement – so will this be the moment the iWatch takes centre stage?
What we do know, is that if a smartwatch is unveiled by Apple tomorrow, it will be the first time an entirely new product has been released under the helm of Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook.
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But Apple wouldn’t be the first company to unveil a ‘smartwatch’ – Samsung and Pebble have both launched their own wrist devices, but so far they have hardly piqued the public’s curiosity.
So far, wearable gadgets have remained the domain of gadget aficionados or fitness buffs who want to keep count of their calories.
#iWatch? Please. Can it play Space Invaders like my watch could in *1982*? pic.twitter.com/rjsqaYgf9Q
— Seth Masket (@smotus) September 4, 2014
So if Apple gets the design of its smartwatch right, it could be the first company to tempt the average person to actually buy one.
But not everyone thinks Apple has what it takes to make the smartwatch really take off.
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Jan Dawson, an independent technology analyst for Jackdaw Research, surveyed thousands of consumers and found that interest in smartwatch features such as fitness tracking and mobile payments, was low.
“Smartwatches, as they currently stand, are trying to meet needs which most people simply don’t have,” Dawson told the New York Times.
You saw it here first. #fb #iwatch pic.twitter.com/UxYNa6Aky1
— Barry J Gibb (@barryjamesgibb) September 8, 2014
Investment Bank CitiGroup on the other hand predicts that the growth of smartwatches or ‘wrist wearables’ will soar by 455 per cent through 2018.
According to Oliver Chen, retail analyst at CitiGroup, this would generate $4.2 billion in revenue in 2015 and $6 billion the year after.
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Chen predicts the market for smartwatches alone will reach $10 billion by 2018 from a figure of around 1.6 billion today.
While many analysts are sceptical that Apple would release its smartwatch before the Christmas sales period, Chen estimates if this were to in fact happen, it could mean 14 million units shifted in 2015 with an expected retail price of $300.
So what else do we know about the iWatch?
It will be a watch
First things first, the device is likely to tell the time - just like any good watch should.
The name
While the entire Internet has christened the mysterious Apple wrist device as an ‘iWatch’, recent reports continue to refer to Apple’s product simply as a ‘wearable’ – without mention of the ‘smartphone’ label others are throwing around.
There are also rumours circulating that the device will be less watch and more band, lending itself to the name iBand.
This would make sense if claims that Apple and Nike are plotting a joint product to launch turn out to be true.
Collaboration over an Apple wearable device could also explain why Nike disbanded the team responsible for its FuelBand fitness tracker.
Smartwatches throughout history:
Complementary device to the iPhone
The smartwatch would be able to do plenty on its own but will also act as a complementary component to your phone, according to a report by Reuters.
In true Apple style, the device it likely to be compatible only in conjunction with a smartphone that runs Apple’s iOS – which leaves you with none other than the iPhone.
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Once it is paired to your smartphone, you can use it as an offshoot of your device, to complete tasks such as answering phone calls and writing messages.
It will track your health
Health tracking is believed to be the primary feature of the Apple smartwatch.
Apple has developed its HealthKit app, which allows your iPhone to keep tabs on your health metrics on a daily basis, and over a longer period.
The iWatch is expected to have more than 10 biosensors according to the Wall Street Journal, allowing the user to potentially keep track of things like weight loss, hydration levels, heart beat, exercise and nutrition.
If all is to believed, the iWatch will feature prominently in Apple's push towards health technology, with the help of its new app and the alleged iPhone 6.
What will it look like?
Apple’s wearable device is expected to come in men and women's sizes it has been reported.
According to the Korean Herald, Apple’s iWatch is likely to be made in two sizes - a 1.7-inch OLED display for men and a 1.3-inch OLED screen for women, David Hsieh, DisplaySearch’s Vice President of the Greater China Market, revealed in a conference in Taiwan.
Apple's patent sketches may also shed some light onto what the watch could look like, but these diagrams are pretty vague.
And to confuse us even more, the patent refers to the device not as an iWatch as many guessed, but as the iTime.
