We’ve been hearing and reading plenty of speculation regarding what Apple’s entry in to the wearables market could look like. Ever since Tim Cook uttered that they were much more interested in wrist-worn devices than glasses, many of us have taken it as a guaranteed sign that an iWatch is coming.
What could it feature? We really don’t know. It certainly needs to be unique and feature things we’d never have imagined, in a form factor that’s unlike any watch we’ve seen before. After all, when Apple usually enters a market, it changes it. We saw it with the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad as well as services like iTunes.
Adam, our Senior Editor, had a go at trying to imagine what an iWatch could feature earlier in the week. One thing we definitely agree on is that Apple needs to enter the market if it’s going to be seen as a hit. At the moment, wrist-worn gadgets are being adopted mostly by geeks. Not “regular” consumers. Apple can change that trend.
Over at 9to5Mac, Mark Gurman scooped a gem, that could hold the key to what makes the iWatch such an important device. He notes that over the past year, Apple has hired a number of scientists, engineers and managers from the biomedical technology field.
Two in particular that have been hired to work on the iWatch are Nancy Dougherty and Ravi Narasimhan. Both are involved in some pretty incredible technologies.
Dougherty worked on an unobtrusive patch that attaches to your skin, is completely pain and needle free, but can read your blood to an incredible detail. It measures glucose levels, kidney function and can even detect your electrolyte balance. Narasimhan worked at Vital Connect, where he was responsible for leading a team which focussed on creating various biosensors.
In short, the iWatch might well be similar to other smartwatches, in that it tells the time, gives you notifications and controls basic functions of your phone. But, more importantly, it could be used to detect all kinds of health issues. It could read your blood, it’ll know when you’re falling and much more.
I highly recommend reading Mark Gurman’s piece on 9to5Mac. It’s a fantastic scoop.
