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

[sanook997]

I NEED a GPS chip. I literally wear my Garmin watch almost every day. All it does is tell the time and track my location/time/pace while running. If the iWatch can't do GPS then I'm screwed.

Because I will want one anyway...

And who wants to wear two watches?

Hopefully we get this and much more, I'm excited about the fitness aspects and its overall accuracy and repeatability.

 

[StyxMaker]

True, which makes me wonder why the solar charging failed. I wonder if they were able to do whatever in the heck Rolex does to power their watches? I think it has to do with charging the battery through the natural movements of the arm. Some kind of motion driven mini generator. Although I guess an OLED screen and a boatload of sensors would drain power *far* more quickly than a simple chronograph motor.

Citizen has an entire line (Eco-Drive) of light powered watches. Most of them have up to 180 days standby power when fully charged. But it takes very little power to run these watches.

 

[Zippoe]

If iwatch will have flexibke display as told it woukd bring revolution big as iphone did few years ago, not to mention that it would leave competitors in the dust

 

[macs4nw]

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?

Health Apps are just the tip of the iceberg. The possibilities for this wrist-worn 'virtual assistant' in combination with a companion device such as an iPhone are mind blowing and too numerous to even attempt to try to list here.

Your questions will be answered on Sep 9; stay tuned and be prepared to be blown away by the next 'must have' product category.

 

[iBug2]

Genuine question: What is so exciting about this? What features are people looking forward to with this "iWatch"? Health monitoring? Is that it?

Health monitoring is the next big thing in tech. A friend of mine in Harvard applied engineering and physics talked to me about what people are working on, some tech which sits in your "watch" like device constantly monitoring your blood for cancer cells, and it will be able to detect 1 in a million, which is basically the earliest you can catch and kill cancer before it spreads.

So a tech which you wear on your wrist will eventually be the "end of cancer" as we know it.

Let that info sit in for a while and now think why a health sensing watch is important.

This is 15-20 years into the future but still, iWatch will be the beginning.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Sleep tracking?

Anyways, this is a problem. You are going to have the charge the thing sometime.

An inductance charger built into the mattress. I mean, obviously.

Do I have to think of everything?

 

[avanpelt]

Yes, I want to wear a watch like this on my wrist. Not. No chance someone with any taste of style would want an iWatch on their wrist.

That's presuming a lot. Remember, there has not been a single part leak for the iWatch yet. All the things we've seen on this site and others are simply renditions of what people think an iWatch will look like.

My guess is that the iWatch prototypes and the final design (if it exists at this point) have not ventured far from Jony Ive's lab in Cupertino. Why? Apple is not stupid. They know that images of their upcoming devices leak once said devices are in production in China. By doing things this way, Apple gets to do the ultimate reveal next Tuesday. Once we've all seen what the device will look like, leaks from the supply chain (which will inevitably occur) will be largely inconsequential.

 

[Padmini]

Not good news for those predicting that the device would stand on its own without being teathered to an iPhone.

Apple was never going to make a wearable the size that would be required for iPhone-like capabilities.

This device was always going to be an iPhone accessory. It makes too much sense.

The power it can wield by communicating with an iPhone in a pocket/purse is far more substantial than what it could do on its own. It couldn't be the product it is without that.

 

[apolloa]

Aow that gif is hilarious!

So..

A flexible display, I'll believe it when I see it, seriously, does ANYTHING on the market today use a flexible display?

 

[3282868]

Any time I see these iWatch rumored mockups, I can't help picturing this:

 

[teknikal90]

All this tech is USELESS if the battery doesn't last for days

thats what they said about phones. but now were used to just docking our iphones on our bedside table every night.
Id wager theres some sort of wireless charging

 

[StyxMaker]

Why do you want to keep it on when you sleep?

Probably, just like the Up band or the Fitbit, it monitors your sleep cycles. It can't do that if it's not on your wrist.

 

[MacFinnley]

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..

Same thought. I bet on this.

 

[taptic]

I hope it can be both quickly charged and produce some energy of its own like regular watches.

 

[ScholarsInk]

I seem to remember MANY years ago a watch that wound itself as you wore it. I assume there was a tiny weight or something that moved back and forth cranking just a little bit each time so you never had to wind it.

It would be interesting to have something like that where a tiny magnet moved back and forth through tiny coils charging a tiny battery. Dat would be cool.

It's not just a watch. That's every automatic watch ever, from sub-$100 Seiko 5s and Chinese generics to Oyster Perpetuals and Grand Seikos running into the thousands.

An automatic movement that charges a battery is nothing new either. They go back to the 80s and I'm wearing one at the moment actually. On a simple watch like this, two weeks of wear is enough to charge up the battery for six months. The more mechanical complications, the shorter the power reserve and I imagine a screen would draw far too much power for that to feasible, but I've been surprised before.

 

[Windlasher]

Seiko has been making watches that charge in that manor for years. It's their 'Kinetic' line of watches.

Thats probably the one. I have not worn a watch in 40 years. We shall see if Apple can bring me back into the fold.

----------

It's not just a watch. That's every automatic watch ever, from sub-$100 Seiko 5s and Chinese generics to Oyster Perpetuals and Grand Seikos running into the thousands.

An automatic movement that charges a battery is nothing new either. They go back to the 80s and I'm wearing one at the moment actually. On a simple watch like this, two weeks of wear is enough to charge up the battery for six months. The more mechanical complications, the shorter the power reserve and I imagine a screen would draw far too much power for that to feasible, but I've been surprised before.

We can hope. I have not worn a watch since I was a child so its been a while since I paid attention. Hopefully Apple will bring me back into the fold of watch wearers next week.

 

[Menel]

If the watch can have wireless charging, why not the iPhone 6?
The Broadcom chip is out there - and suspiciously Broadcom gave a hint at the BCM4358 chip as shipping by end of September.

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.

 

[cdmoore74]

I can't wait. My body parts are ready.

But is your bank account ready?

 

[3282868]

Thats probably the one. I have not worn a watch in 40 years. We shall see if Apple can bring me back into the fold.

Most high end luxury watches are self-winding, using "Perpetual Movement". The watch will stay wound for 7-10 days with no use (remedied by self-windows watch cases, keeping the watch in perpetual movement). Nothing new, no tech necessary, just a simple yet ingenious method for keeping time.


PERPETUAL MOVEMENTS

 

[Quu]

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?

 

[mrothroc]

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....

Along these lines, the classic iPod review from CmdrTaco:
"No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame."

Still visible in it's original form here:
http://slashdot.org/story/01/10/23/1816257/apple-releases-ipod

 

[tolpe]

[...] Tim Cook back in stage: "Well, this has been an exciting morning and I am sure you will love these new iPhones we've just shown you. [silence] One more thing..."

 

[Tech198]

will Apple have a dock the same as others and call it 'wireless' when its physically connected... to the base of the phone ?

...or would Apple incorporate the wireless into an ac adapter... and phone..

It doesn't make sense to even dock something if u have to use it on a dock and call it "wireless"

But everyone ate it up like left over pizza..

 

[budselectjr]

An inductance charger built into the mattress. I mean, obviously.

Do I have to think of everything?

Or maybe just an additional device that is always on your mattress that takes over the sleep data capture while the watch is charging.

 

[Yvan256]

Does not compute

sleep quality.... wireless charging... something's not right with this information, unless Apple starts selling wireless charging mattresses.

edit: IJ Reilly beat me to it.