Smartwatch

Bloomberg: Samsung in race with Apple to get wristwatch to market

Cody Lee ∙ Updated June 4, 2018

We've heard a lot of talk in recent months that Apple is working on a wristwatch-like device. And it could be ready to launch as soon as this year. We've also seen some alleged leaked screenshot images that suggest Samsung is working on a similar product.

Tonight, Bloomberg is out with a new report that adds significant weight to both rumors, claiming that not only are both companies preparing wearable devices that perform similar functions as smartphones, but they're both racing to get them to market...

Teardown reveals the Pebble isn’t repairable at all

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 13, 2013

Perhaps in a slight indication of the kinds of limitations we could expect from Apple's rumored iWatch, repair wizards over at iFixit tore apart the Pebble smartwatch, having concluded that the components are so densely packed in such a tiny space that the gizmo is not repairable at all. As a result, iFixit refrained from giving the Pebble a repairability score in the first place.

And because the makers of the Pebble smartwatch had to use excessive adhesive for waterproofing, the battery is “very inaccessible” and there's no way of prying open the device “without compromising the display”...

iWatch concept, the traditional edition

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Hot on the heels of releasing a set of renditions depicting what an iPhone 6 with a 4.6-inch screen might look like, 3D artist Martin Hajek is out with a new concept for the iWatch, Apple's rumored iOS-powered smartwatch that has been reportedly cooking in Jony Ive's kitchen for quite a time now.

Unlike a bunch of sci-fi renderings and some pretty radical mockups that couldn't be farther from the real thing (or so we hope, from the bottom of our hearts), Martin's new renderings featured on the April cover of the MacUser magazine employs a more traditional approach to what an everyman's app-enabled wristwatch should look like...

Bloomberg: iWatch will run iOS, is due by Christmas

Ed Sutherland ∙ March 4, 2013

A few months ago, you couldn't move without encountering yet another Apple television rumor. But if you are interested in profit - and what company isn't - the execs in Cupertino should cancel any HD TV and focus on wristwatches. Turns out, the wristwatch business could be way more profitable than Apple-made TVs.

Rival firms lust after Apple's huge profit margins. In a potential stroke of good timing, massive margins from the much-rumored iWatch could replace the iPhone - even slacking PC sales, one Wall Street analyst forecasts Monday...

Buddy crowdfunded smartwatch claims a battery life of 10 days

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hirm_ie6IkI

One of the challenges smartwatch makers face deals with the tiny batteries that power these things. That's why Bluetooth Smart (or Bluetooth 4.0) technology is so great. It consumes only a fraction of the power required by previous Bluetooth implementations and can wake up devices nearly instantaneously.

Enter Buddy, a crowdfunded Bluetooth smartwatch with a claimed battery life of as much as ten days, or an impressive two weeks on standby. Besides telling time, the Buddy also relays notifications from your iOS, Android or Windows Phone devices, lets you control music playback, place calls, receive and display data from your device like turn by turn navigation, display your media like pictures and more...

Screenshots of Samsung’s iWatch competitor leaked

Cody Lee ∙ February 15, 2013

While there's been multiple Apple rumors bandied about over the past few weeks, by far, the one receiving the most attention is the iWatch. Three major news outlets have now reported of its existence and the word is, Apple's bringing it to market.

Well if that really is the case, then it might want to hurry, or risk getting beaten to the punch by its fiercest competitor. That's right, Samsung has a smartwatch of its own. And if the alleged screenshots above are the real deal, then it's not too far off...

Apple said to be moving forward with iWatch project

Cody Lee ∙ February 14, 2013

You can call it the 'iWatch.' You can call it a 'wearable computer.' Heck, you can even call it a 'bad idea.' But after a week of hearing reports from major news outlets that Apple is working on a wristwatch-like device, it looks like it's happening.

And that certainty becomes a little more solid this afternoon, as iMore's Rene Ritchie adds his weight to the rumor. Ritchie, who has proven to be very accurate with Apple intel, reports that Apple is indeed moving forward with the project...

Bloomberg: Apple has 100 product designers working on wristwatch-like device

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Over the weekend, we heard reports from two major news outlets—both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal— that Apple is working on a smartwatch. It's said to feature a curved glass display and run a version of iOS.

Like clockwork, Bloomberg has chimed in with its own 'iWatch' report this afternoon. The site says that two sources inside the company have confirmed that Apple indeed has an enormous team working on a wristwatch-like device...

Joy of Tech weighs in on iWatch rumors

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

Talk of Apple working on a smartwatch has really heated up over the past week. Following a speculative piece from a former Apple engineer, both the NYT and the WSJ have reported that the company is indeed building such a product.

So what will this so-called iWatch do? Things like Siri, NFC and support for third-party apps have all been thrown about. But according to the folks over at Joy of Tech, the watch's built-in Dyson hand drier will be its killer feature...

WSJ: Apple testing iWatch designs with Foxconn

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 28, 2016

The New York Times tech columnist Nick Bilton has recycled his December 2011 story of a curved-glass iPod, now claiming in a new piece published this morning that a wearable computer by Apple is actually in the works. An iWatch apparently runs iOS, the story has it, and will stand apart from competition based on Apple's "understanding of how such glass can curve around the human body”.

Not to be outdone by its chief competitor, the credulous Wall Street Journal just issued its own iWatch report corroborating Bilton's article and adding a few tidbits of its own...

The New York Times again reports that Apple is building an iWatch

Cody Lee ∙ February 10, 2013

Hot on the heels of the popular 'iWatch' speculation piece from former Apple employee Bruce Tognazzini, comes a report from The New York Times that claims that such a product is actually in the works.

Citing sources 'familiar with the matter,' The Times is reporting (for the second time in the last three years) that Apple is currently in the process of developing a smartwatch that utilizes curved glass...

Former Apple human interface developer makes a case for an iWatch

Cody Lee ∙ February 9, 2013

With Apple's iPhone line approaching 7 years old, and the iPad nearly 3 years old, industry watchers are calling for the company to come up with 'the next big thing.' And there's two mythical products that seem to keep coming up in the conversation: the iTV and the iWatch.

While we've heard dozens of rumors concerning Apple building its own TV set, speculation regarding the iWatch has been much more subdued. Perhaps that's why this post from Bruce Tognazzini, a former Apple employee, is getting so much attention this week...