Apple Has Team of 100 Product Designers Working on a Smart Watch

slimbek said:

Yeah... creating the original Mac is pretty much the same as fitting an entire computer into your wrist. So they should only need 9 people for that.

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This has already been done as a kickstarter project....

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-e-paper-watch-for-iphone-and-android

Let alone the other stabs at this done by Sony and others. Not to even mention the work already done by the OS for the iPods using a slightly larger form factor.


So no, this is not in the same scope at the original Mac project. The minuration aspect is already availble with "off the shelf" subcomponents that can be added to a SoC design. There is no Manhattan project or moon landing aspect here.

It is far more a question of what do they want to put in (or leave out depending upon your point of view) into the device. Not whether it can be made that small. And no you don't need a committee of 100 to decide that. Not even close.

Wasn't this the invention of Pebble?
Oh wait, Apple doesn't steal.

EDIT: ^ above poster beat me to it.

What I don't get is why...

Why do I need another device with some of the functionalities of my phone when it's not a phone? Unlike the iPad which is a charge in size and power, scaling down decreases usability.

I'm ready.

darkplanets said:

What I don't get is why...

Why do I need another device with some of the functionalities of my phone when it's not a phone? Unlike the iPad which is a charge in size and power, scaling down decreases usability.

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For the same reason why we still use an iPhone even though there is an iPad. Or the same reason we use an iPad even though there is a Mac. Smaller devices offer different functionality and work better at certain things. You don't want to carry around a Mac Pro in your backpack, and you don't want to carry a n iPad in your pocket. You don't want to carry an iPhone around on your wrist, so they're making the iWatch.

I could see it now, version one and two of this watch doesn't include the date; the date is "unlocked" but only for version two and newer...lol

Actually, if it had BT and wifi where it could stream music from itunes in the cloud along with some onboard content, ie a few gb's of storage, and thrown in a fitness app that syncs to an app on your iPad, iPhone or Mac via BT, you might have something interesting.

Oh for *****ssake... Wasn't Bloomberg one who reported that Richard Gere stuck gerbils up his butt as part of his religion? Or am I thinking of WSJ, USA Today, NYTimes? Heck, they're all the same... full of dung.

OceanView said:

Wasn't this the invention of Pebble?
Oh wait, Apple doesn't steal.

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Sony Ericsson LiveView came out in 2010. Android-based smartwatch.

Casio has been making all sorts of watch gadgets since the 80s packed with TVs, infrared remote controls, calendars, barometers, calculators etc.

These ideas predate the Pebble.

darkplanets said:

Why do I need another device with some of the functionalities of my phone when it's not a phone?

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You don't, and that's why Apple isn't going to sell one. Honest to god, these reporters and analysts just love to jump on any idea they get and put it out there with their "confirmed and reliable sources" as backing, and everybody just eats it up.

iWatcher to Criminals: (Walking down the street) "Hey! I have an iPhone or an iPad in my jacket pocket! Come get it!"

doubleaa said:

Meh, I'll stick to my Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean. I prefer real watches.

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Sucker born every minute. My buddy has a
PO clone for 3000$ less than you wasted.

Stop thinking of this as a watch and more as a new way to present you with information and collect information about you and your environment. Think of all the different sensors that could be incorporated and what developers could do with a wealth of vital and constant information. Think of the ramifications of a communication device that is always within functioning distance of your mouth and ears, good and bad. Think of how this could replace wallets, all keys, passports, and passwords and pass codes. Yes smartphones can do this too but they are lost or left behind too easily, and this could be made to cease to function once removed from an arm. Think of the healthcare implications. Think of knowing your kids location and temperature at all times, or if Grandma has fallen or is having a heart attack. Think of it as a more convenient and less obtrusive extension of your phone, tablet, PC or TV.

The key to this concept is accessibility- always on you and available in an instant- like a watch. There is a reason people started putting watches on wrists.

When rumors of an iPhone first began, people were envisioning an ipod like device that made calls, complete with click wheel. Same thing is happening again.

iWatch does not feel right for the name. How many iOS Devices don't start with "iP"? Something to consider...

Carlanga said:

OMG I don't wear a watch, this is a waste wah wah wah

Unless you are <12 y/o you should own a watch. Don't come to me saying that you use your phone as a watch... Yeah, because every-time I need to check the time I want to grab a phone from my pocket, remove it and press a button to see the time then put it back in the pocket... ridiculous IMO The whole reason wristwatches took over the pocket watch was because of this.

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Since I've stopped wearing a watch I've noticed how much my sense of time has dropped off. Even thought I didn't look at the watch that often. Not sure sense was picking up information subliminally, but friends who have watches are better at being on time.

That wouldn't be helped with the iWatch it's seems to be more mechanical watches that make the difference.

If this has Nike+ compatibility I'd get it.

blucurv said:

Here's what Nokia had as a concept a while ago. Shame it never materialized.
Image

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Thank you! I was looking for this.

How offensive

If i had a smart watch that said "mind your manners", I'd toss it out the window.....

I'll burp as i please...

fastasleep said:

Image

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Looks like one of those WW2 flight cockpits.

Not seeing the watch thing.

Just sounds like something one doesn't need.

Already got my iPocketwatch.
.

RonDMC said:

The problem is that these days a watch is pretty much a fashion accessory, a lot of people don't even use watches to tell the time even if they are wearing one. They usually just use a smart phone. When you talk about fashion everyone doesn't want to wear the same thing so it's going to have to be pretty spectacular to be a hit.

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Exactly a phone you customize a bit with a case and it isn't always on display. An iWatch sounds like a nerd product.

trip1ex said:

Not seeing the watch thing.

Just sounds like something one doesn't need.

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I agree, it seems a strange thing to do. But then Cook likes to say Apple's role in the world is to figure out what you need that you never knew was missing, and once you get it, you wonder how you lived without it. He also likes to talk about Apple sticking to doing a relatively small number of things really, really right. He's intentionally vague and chooses his words very carefully (e.g. "beloved hobby" becomes an "intense interest" in the case of TV, hmmm), but at the same time, he's set the bar very high for when Apple does do something new. So if this watch story is true, I would expect there's something about it we're not thinking of, or whose utility we're underestimating.

nagromme said:

I’m speculating on the next big thing that either becomes a new category or redefines an old one.

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Well now that narrows it down hey

OceanView said:

Wasn't this the invention of Pebble?
Oh wait, Apple doesn't steal.

EDIT: ^ above poster beat me to it.

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It was actually the idea of a member of MacRumors. when the 6th. Gen. Nano came out in 2010 someone even posted a pic of one.

Found it. From 2010. Before pebbles.

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/11014399/

NO. Apple spent 137billion dollars on an updated watch. Really? WTF?!

ob81 said:

I kind of want them focused on products that people actually want. I am not sure this watch is that big of a deal.

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Apple doesn't design products that people want. They design products that people don't know they want and then when they see them they want them.

Squilly said:

How often do you see teens these days wearing a watch? Not every day do you hear the next generation saying: "OMG I NEED THIS NOW! NEW WATCH!"

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Remember before 2007, these smart phones from Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Palm, etc! I did not see any teens using them either. It was more the kind of thing that an office guy would use "mentality" But just as much as any teens i see now days uses smart phone. My point is.... you don't know if anyone is gonna want this product yet. Not until is OUT. Pure and simple!

I can't believe Apple have 100 working on anything.