Apple to Introduce iWatch in September Suggests Apple Journalist John Gruber [Updated]

fermat-au said:

John Gruber a Journalist? an Apple fan boy? yes. Blogger? Yes, but a Journalist? .....

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He had been given scoops in the past, both officially and unofficially. And unlike some sites he never pretends to know something without actually knowing.

When he is guessing (which is often!) he makes that clear.

If finding new information and passing it on the public doesn't count as a journalism, what does?

Rogifan said:

Why? Because it has a round face? The black bar at the bottom is ugly (and yes I know why it's there). The watch itself seems very thick and bulky. I know it would look hideous on my tiny wrist. I can't imagine any females wearing it.

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The bottom bothers some, but just as many are not bothered by it. I'm really not bothered by it. I can understand if you think it's an unfortunate blemish, but "ugly," I'm honestly agape. And I can deal with a thicker watch if it means better battery life.

aperry said:

I think the moto watch looks great. Who knows how it'll function, but it's really nice looking. Maybe someone can explain the "flat tire" comment? I don't get it.

Regardless, I'm sure the Apple watch will look beautiful as well.

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The "flat tire" comments are because of the black bar/slit at the bottom for the display drivers.

The Moto 360 is the best I've seen of all "smart" watches so far. Lets see what Apple does and if this next thing is something most people would wear.

It would make a lot of sense for the iWatch to be shown off with the bigger iPhones. Then Apple can say, yes we made the iPhone bigger for general use, and to compensate we now have a watch that you can have on you at all times instead.

And, then they can announce all of the new hardware driven iOS 8 features in a single event.

iOS 8.1 can come with the iPads and include split screen.

Stupid flat tire display? The Moto 360 is currently the best looking and designed smartwatch. That guy doesn't deserve any respect for making that idotic comment.

Noctilux.95 said:

Nothing new here. This editor regularly gets beat by other sites. Should be called MacRumors Roundup

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tips@macrumors.com!

Gruber is an idiot... and maybe a blogger.. but journalist?

I think Gruber must have been sitting in the sun too long, blacked out, and when it came to thought it was already September. Only then does his "next month" comment make sense. I can't see why Apple would delay an iPhone release to October --- hurts earnings on it's main money maker OR why Apple would want the two to share space in the Hypeasphere.

Also if they do announce both at the same then what the heck will they announce in Oct? A new AppleTV and iPad. Snore-a-thon only less boring than the Apple Hi Fi speaker and iPod leather case announcement. That's not the way you storm into the holiday gift season. (For the record I have an AppleTV, love, will probably buy the next version, but ultimately its a boring box no matter how much content Apple adds to it, and it's not going to be a cable killer/game changer. Very evolutionary).

usamaah said:

Yeah. Apparently it's cool to rail on the fact that Motorola couldn't get it to be completely circular (because of the display components, there's that slit at the bottom that is not an active display).

If there's a company that CAN figure out a way to do a full circular display, Apple would be at the top of my list. But as it stands, I like to applaud engineers/designers from all companies when they do a good job. I think Motorola did a great job.

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Nest did a better job. But the display isn't circular; the black bezel around it just gives that illusion. Of course if they did that with the Moto Almost 360 the face would have been massive.



This is why I hope whatever Apple comes up with was designed around how they want the device to function and not the other way around. With the Moto Almost 360 you get the feeling they started with the requirement that the face had to be circular whether it functionally made sense or not.

Also these smart watch designs so far are basically sticking smartphone components on your wrist. Apple has hired a lot of people to work on this project and Bob Mansfield gave up his full time SVP gig to work on it so I'm hopeful we'll get something from Apple that is unique, not just a me-too device.

verpeiler said:

Gruber is an idiot... and maybe a blogger.. but journalist?

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How can you call him an idiot? Can you provide proof?

The only way I'd get an iWatch is it can tell me how stoned I can get before OD'ing.

Gruber gets inside info. And has already tweeted the date of the iwatch launch - about a week ago (14th or 15th Sept if I recall). Stay with it, MR!

Edit: I just checked his feed - the launch date is 16th or 17th, so a week after iPhone.

There are still two really interesting things to these rumors:

1) A hypochondriac like me will buy this the second it comes out. I already have a chest heart rate monitor, a prescription-only pulse oximeter, a glucose meter, a blood pressure machine, and a fancy thermometer. But I was under the impression that I am very, very odd. Apple wants to sell millions of things, not thousands. Who would be interested in this?

2) This device has been claimed to measure heart rate, blood oxygen, glucose, and even blood pressure (not in this report, but in others). The only device on the market that is wrist-exclusive and can accurately measure heart rate in motion is the Mio, which by itself starts at $99. There is no device small enough to be considered a wearable I've ever seen that measures blood pressure. And measuring glucose without taking blood seems like an out there thing. So:

1) Either all these rumors are wrong.

or

2) Apple really has come up with ground-breaking, amazing technology the world has never seen before. They won't come out with something that guesstimates glucose, pulse, or blood pressure. As large as Apple is, any such junky device would be derided in the media and investigated by the government.

So, my conclusion is they've either done something completely new that hasn't been done in healthcare before or these rumors are not true.

Dilster3k said:

He's joking right? I'm not that into Motorola products right now, but I must admit that the 360 looks really good.

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They look great in marketing renderings, but in real life, not so much. Sides are way too chunky, hence the "flat tire" description.

Apple would rather introduce it than have the FCC introduce it, so it makes sense.

RealKrS said:

I'm starting to think that September 9 will be a day filled with disappointments for MacRumors readers..

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It's always a disappointment for MacRumors readers, but they're always the ones waiting in line on launch day!

Gruber a "journalist"? Hardly.

These days, a "journalist" delivers made-up, under-researched, unverified, poorly-analized garbage just to get ad clicks.

Gruber always links to real facts on factual matters, and reasoned arguments on opinion matters. If he asserts a fact, you can be as confident as is possible that he is correct.

I don't know what he is, but thankfully, not a "journalist." Look at his track record of being right before you lay such a loaded term on him

And yes, since he reports pro-Apple facts--because they are facts--instead of making up anti-Apple fictions (which "journalists" are wont to do), he may also be a "fanboy." One who criticizes Apple soundly and frequently. And praises Apple competitors. I don't always agree with him, but he's able to see facts wherever they may point.

(P.S. I don't see his post as claiming it WILL come next month. I see a weaker claim that he believes it MAY. Unlike a "journalist," he's careful not to overstate the strength of what he is saying. We should read it the way it is written, as a possibility.)

@iWatch: Please be right-wrist friendly.

RealKrS said:

I'm starting to think that September 9 will be a day filled with disappointments for MacRumors readers..

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That's a given no matter what is or is not announced.

-----
Um, yeah, what Chris said..

SchneiderMan said:

Stupid flat tire display? The Moto 360 is currently the best looking and designed smartwatch. That guy doesn't deserve any respect for making that idotic comment.

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Best designed based on what criteria? The ugly black bar at the bottom of the display? Circular watch faces are great if you're just telling time. But who needs a "smart" watch to tell time?

Notice in some cases the UI is slightly cut off or goes right up to the edge of the watch face. I don't know if I'd consider that best designed.

Hopefully there will be one more thing at the iPhone announcement.

laserbeam273 said:

They look great in marketing renderings, but in real life, not so much. Sides are way too chunky, hence the "flat tire" description.

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And even with the display off you can see the ugly black bar.

laserbeam273 said:

They look great in marketing renderings, but in real life, not so much. Sides are way too chunky, hence the "flat tire" description.

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Pure strategy. Then comes the upgrades such as, "hey, this one is 1/16 of an inch less thick than it's predecessor."

Journalist? I think MacRumors has jumped the shark.

usamaah said:

The bottom bothers some, but just as many are not bothered by it. I'm really not bothered by it. I can understand if you think it's an unfortunate blemish, but "ugly," I'm honestly agape. And I can deal with a thicker watch if it means better battery life.



The "flat tire" comments are because of the black bar/slit at the bottom for the display drivers.

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All these smart watches to me are just a solution looking for problem. It's the tech industry looking for "the next big thing" and tech sites like The Verge drool all over this stuff because smartphones and tablets are mature tech now and they're bored. That's why they hype anything with sensors they can call "smart" because they're desperately looking for something, anything to get excited about.