So there have been plenty of random rumours about the concept of an Apple iWatch, no one really has any idea what form or forms it might take so this is really interesting to speculate about. A recent marketing CEO from Swiss watch maker TAG heuer seems to be drifting towards Apple which lends to the idea that there is some sort of luxury item at some level.
So what might these watches be like? Well I think there are likely to be range of watches with different kinds of functionalities. It seems plausible that Apple will produce a basic fitness focused model in the $250 range , including things like a pedometer, heart rate monitor, GPS.
A Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 . image: Samsung
How an iWatch is likely to link up with other iDevices, in particular the iPhone seems to be critical. But what features are likely to be connected? email notifications? Tweets? this seems unlikely unless there is some significant set up feature to choose how often and when such notifications are likely to show up. Power draining is a pretty essential issue too, an iWatch would need to have a long charge capacity, in the order of at least 2 days or more. Charging such a device would almost mean it needs both the option of USB lightning cable and wireless induction style charging.
Tissot T-Touch Expert Men's Watch T0134204420200. image: Tissot
The styling of the watch with Apple recent fashion and jewellry CEOs would suggest a variation in style. But it just seems there is going to be some kind of device that compliments the current colour ranges of iPhones and iPod Touches. It seems quite likely that a watch with a classic look is a possibility too.
We may all be thinking that a purely digital LCD style interface is the way to go, but this may be draining on the battery too much. Could they have hybrid device in mind? something that is literal mechanical watch but with a LCD connected in the face like the Tissot range? It is a tough call really on that because Apple tends to have its own unique style. It would be a massive departure from what they normally do. It is vaguely conceivable.
It will be interesting to see what if anything comes up in the next few months, oh yes there is the larger iPhone 6 to look forward too.
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