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Apple's 'iWatch' to Feature Flexible Display, Wireless Charging

imwoblin said:
Knowing how much Tim Cook loves wearing the Nike Fuel Band, maybe this mockup is close to the real deal, with a thin flexible screen..
Click to expand...

When I heard that Nike disbanded the FuelBand team a while back and knowing the Tim Cook is on the Nike board, I assumed that a closer relationship might be in the works.

This got me thinking in more detail about how the device might function, which led me to create a concept based on what I’d like to see in the device.

iwatch_concept_3_tedlindsey.jpg


This concept is influenced by the sleek design of the Nike+ FuelBand. This type of band could provide space for the battery within the band itself. A magnetic clasp with a positive locking mechanism so that it snaps into place like a Magsafe adapter would be a classic Apple touch. Maybe different size clasps to allow for a range of wrist sizes? A glossy outer shell with a soft rubberized inner band looks great in renders, but I’m not sure how it would hold up to daily abuse.

iwatch_concept_3_rear_tedlindsey.jpg


I think a Home button/Touch ID is a given and would be useful for triggering Siri or authorizing a payment via NFC with your fingerprint. Two side buttons with context sensitive functionality would make sense. In the Music player, they could function as volume controls or as Start/Stop controls in fitness apps. You could even press them together to trigger a third action such as Play/Pause. Having physical buttons on a device this size is important since you’re going to want to operate it via feel on occasion.

The UI might rotate intelligently based on orientation, adopting a horizontal display for the lock screen (time display) but switching to a vertical strip when you raise your wrist towards you. Because the bottom of the display is going to be closer to the user and angled towards them, I can see the status bar being placed on the bottom and most interactions favoring the bottom portion of the screen. Looking forward to seeing what new user interactions they’ve created for this form factor.

iwatch_concept_3_springboard_tedlindsey.jpg


The device is going to be too small for text entry, so Siri is going to be much more important and will probably be a primary way you interact with it. Notification displays and response will be another key role for the device so you don’t have to constantly pull your iPhone out of your pocket or bag. I’d love to see some physical interactions such as shaking your wrist to dismiss a notification. Or maybe these kind of gestures could be used to control external devices via HomeKit or act as a remote for your AppleTV.

This will probably be the flagship device for HealthKit and I can’t wait to see what kind of sensors are included. Activity tracking is a given, but I’m eager to see if they include heart rate or even more exotic sensors. The band is the area that’s most likely to have sensors in it since it’s the location where the veins are closest to the surface of the skin.

I can see the device being the user interface and “disconnected” storage for a wide range of health/fitness devices that communicate over Bluetooth 4LE. We may see the rise of an entirely new ecosystem of devices that pair with the iWatch over NFC and Bluetooth. I can envision touching your iWatch to the console of an NFC enabled treadmill and having it relay activity data directly into your iWatch to HealthKit. Or maybe a blood glucose meter, blood pressure or any number of diagnostic devices.

Wireless charging has been rumored and I’d love to see it happen. I would imagine that near-contact inductive charging is most likely although Apple may surprise us since they’ve made some acquisitions around this tech over the past few years. I think the Lightning connector is brilliant, but I’m not looking forward to having to plug in yet another device. Especially if the battery life is less than several days, which is probably going to be the case.

In any event, in less than a week, I hope I can look back at this post and laugh at how quaint this concept is compared to the real thing.
 
Great work Ted, really nice concept art, only a few days to see if Apple came up with something better.
 
I would be a bit careful about the word "flexible" in this article. My experience from many articles and discussions in the last years is that many people (including most analysts) don't know the difference between "flexible" and "curved".

Replace the word "flexible" with the word "curved" in the headline and article, and the believability level increases greatly.
 
fertilized-egg said:
As I repeated several times it's all assuming, if (and only if) Apple and others find that compelling reason to make people want to use the smartwatch all the time. Those with 10k watches will absolutely use a smartwatch instead of the expensive watch, if that killer feature is present. That's the kind of thing Apple needs to achieve with their wearable device.



That's a bad comparison because Civic and Rolls Royce perform the exactly same tasks as vehicles. A truly successful smartwatch will be more than just a watch. These days even a billionaire likely prefers to use a cheap smartphone instead of a diamond encrusted featurephone. That's what Apple will need to do with the smartwatch if it's to become successful.
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It's still not the same thing. Even with the gadgetry that even lower end cars have nowadays, people still have an interest in high end ones of various sorts that lack that gadgetry. For instance, Land Rover Defenders in heavy outdoor use. Or indeed cars that just run beautifully for people who love those mechanics.

As a parallel you have watches that might lack gadgetry, but are solid in territories where you can't use such a gadget, like deep in the sea (Rolex Deepsea) or out in space (Omega Speedmaster Professional).

And that's leaving aside the myriad who buy such things to show off and won't replace them with something cheaper.
 
rrm74001 said:
Genuine question: What is so exciting about this? What features are people looking forward to with this "iWatch"? Health monitoring? Is that it?

Or is it one of those "because Apple" things?
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IMO such device is interesting for several reasons:

1) It would be a brand new product category for Apple (Media and investors mostly are keeping an eye on this).
2) Media and public interest to see what's Apple take on a market not (yet) mainstream, because it's not "cool" enough, but rather geeky.
3) The possibility of including some sort of easy/quick payment system (NFC, Bluetooth, etc).
4) A new fashion and cultural statement in the shape of an accessory (BC existing smart watches are not appealing to the non-tech buyer).
5) (last on my list) Health and fitness sensors (since there's already a wide array of hardware capable of such measurements). The only difference in this regard is that Apple can make it work seamlessly with our iPhone or Mac (or iPad), and of course, in a "cool", nice way.

I give the "Cool" factor a big importance here, because ultimately that's what makes Apple devices an object of desire, rather than just gadgets people buy to fill their needs. So yes, in this regard I guess much of the interest could be the old "just because it's Apple". Many people love cool, cute and fashionable things.

I'm very interested on the mythic iWatch, but my expectations are not too high (for a first generation product). My guess is Apple will call it another "hobby", like the Apple TV.
 
Quu said:
If it's tracking my walking, tracking my sleeping, acting as an actual watch, allowing me to pay for things.

When am I taking it off to charge it? I charge my phone while I'm sleeping, how am I gonna charge this while it's sleeping if it's on my wrist to track my sleeping?
Click to expand...

Wireless charging
 
rrm74001 said:
Genuine question: What is so exciting about this? What features are people looking forward to with this "iWatch"? Health monitoring? Is that it?
Click to expand...

No, for me it is the hope that Apple might actually have something new and exciting in the pipeline that I have not yet thought about myself. If it is just a watch with some health monitoring and an "extended screen" for the iPhone in my pocket, I will be disappointed.

It's like the time before the presentation of the first iPhone. At the time I also could not have said that I really want a device with features like pinch-to-zoom or swiping gestures. At the time, all touch screens on the market sucked (because they were resistive) and did not make me want to use them with my fingers. Then Steve Jobs showed a device that actually invited you to do just that. Yes, I know, it sounds like I'm a stupid marketing victim, but Apple actually discovered a solution to a need that I didn't even know I had. I knew that smartphones at the time were terrible (which is why I didn't own one), but I didn't know how to improve them. Apple did. And that is what I am hoping for with the iWatch.

So of course, it's completely possible that I will just shrug and yawn on Tuesday. Let's see.
 
Mad Mac Maniac said:
Same thing was said about the iPod AFTER it's unveiling... You want some good comedy reading? Go find the original iPod announcement thread here on MR. There is some good funny stuff in there....
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That is absolutely amazing! I like how they compare it to the Archos Jukebox. I had a Jukebox at the time (I was not exactly an Apple fan then), and it was extremely bulky with an annoyingly stupid user interface. I really loved to hate that thing.
 
I've always thought it would be called iBand.

I agree with the earlier poster that suggested that after Nike dis'band'ed their Fuelband team, Apple's product would be a natural progression, with a little Apple Dust sprinkled all over.

I think it will offer much more than just picking up where Nike's Fuelband left off and will incorporate many more health tracking features, as well as some Apple specific features (Siri for example), whilst still making a really nice timepiece.

----------
KopThat said:
Jony Ives has out done himself with the iWatch design.
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(Sir) Jonathon, or Jonny, Ive, not Ives. :)
 
Menel said:
LOL if the chip was to be shipping end of September.

And iPhone is said to be shipping mid September. How was that going to work? Not to mention designing it in, testing, certification, etc etc.
Click to expand...

http://www.broadcom.com/press/release.php?id=s868805
From the press release:
"The BCM4358 is now in production and will be shipping in mobile devices available in Q3 2014."

They weren't that specific on the last 2 chips (4334 for example).

It's a tweaked BCM4354 which the iPhone 6 might have had by the looks of things due to radio interference.
"With the BCM4358 we are addressing critical multi-radio interference challenges [BT/wifi]"

"In addition, improved location accuracy down to one meter will allow new and better indoor location-based services to become viable. "

Note that Broadcom didn't even announce some of their earlier chips that went into iPhones untill the iPhone announcement/release. ]

Seeing as the BCM4354 can do Rezence charging as an option.... whilst it's not mentioned for the BCM4358. Maybe it's not there. Maybe they don't want to announce it yet.

But Q3 2014 shipping in products = a product out and available by end of Sept 2014, no? Name a big phone that's out by September other than the iPhone.
 
Reds622 said:
So you think Apple is betting on those with watches already will now wear multiple things on their wrist? Because that seems unlikely. Any wearable made by Apple that is supposed to be worn on the wrist must replace that device someone is already wearing, and get those who don't wear such a device to start wearing one.

In essence Apple must make a product that disrupts the entire market. There is no middle ground, society (men especially) will not be wearing multiple devices on their wrists, ever.
Click to expand...

I'm a man. I wear an Omega Seamaster on my left wrist, an original Nike Fuelband on my right wrist. You were saying something about men not wearing multiple devices?
 
MentalFloss said:
I would be a bit careful about the word "flexible" in this article. My experience from many articles and discussions in the last years is that many people (including most analysts) don't know the difference between "flexible" and "curved".

Replace the word "flexible" with the word "curved" in the headline and article, and the believability level increases greatly.
Click to expand...

Smart observation. It deserves repeating.
 
It’s not a “watch” but a band worn on the wrist, which uses an electrostatic sensor on the inner/underside to collect data from ligament movement in combination with position/gyro sensors.
The collected data will be useful for a new suite of products that rely on gesture-control.

Though the device will supply data to the Health app, the product will be announced as a standalone device. It will be marketed as a versatile, wearable accessory.

The device has no face or display, and is not intended to be a wristwatch.
Near field communication through an unannounced communication protocol will be a fundamental feature. It will allow the device to be paired with the upcoming iPhone, and allow operability with the aforementioned suite of products.
There will only be a single variation.
 
Thought:

What if Apple is not releasing one type of wearable, but two?

The iWatch - smart watch with all the great features we're expecting - $$$

Health band - Packed with more health sensors - $$

At work so can't elaborate more now, but you get the picture..
 
tedlindsey said:
When I heard that Nike disbanded the FuelBand team a while back and knowing the Tim Cook is on the Nike board, I assumed that a closer relationship might be in the works.

This got me thinking in more detail about how the device might function, which led me to create a concept based on what I’d like to see in the device.

iwatch_concept_3_tedlindsey.jpg
Click to expand...
Beautiful concept work Ted.
fing32.gif
 
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