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Last month Re/code’s John Paczkowski reported that Apple plans to introduce its new iPhone models at an event scheduled for next month, and today Re/code’s Paczkowski reports that Apple will also reveal its wearable product (i.e. iWatch/iBand) alongside the new iPhones:
Apple now plans to unveil a new wearable alongside the two next-generation iPhones we told you the company will debut on September 9th. […] The new device will, predictably, make good use of Apple’s HealthKit health and fitness platform. It will also — predictably — make good use of HomeKit, the company’s new framework for controlling connected devices — though it’s not clear how broadly or in what way.
Re/code previously reported that Apple was targeting October for holding an event to show off its health-focused wearable device, and today’s report mentions that an October event for other products could still be in Apple’s plans.
(For historical purposes, the last two iPad events were held in late October.)
9to5Mac has reported heavily on Apple’s plans for its wearable product tentatively dubbed iWatch.
In July 2013, we reported on a number of key hires made by Apple revealing the company’s plans for a sensor-laded wearable device. In February 2014, we profiled extensively a number of critical members of Apple’s wearables team ranging from leadership to health and fitness to fashion. In June 2014, we reported that Apple has teamed up with a number of professional sports athletes in testing the fitness capabilities of its wearable product. Finally, in July 2014, we updated our report with additional key hires to Apple’s wearables team.
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Sudden idea,
apple wearable will not be a watch, but something more like fitbit-band
slick, thin and well designed, easy to have on you all the time, long battery, no screen
collecting all the information like pules and other health date and transfer over bluetooth to your iPhone6.
just a thought
They would be much wiser to create a watch. Fitbands are niche markets for “health nuts” while watches have global universal appeal. A watch is a natural device for all people, a fitness band has a much smaller market. It must have some sort of screen to at least just display the time or it will fail.
While I agree that there would be more appeal to a watch type product, you have to consider that fitness is a multi-billion dollar industry. Apple would not be blowing it at all with a product that focuses on fitness. Also – although I love watches, I know many people that use their phone to check the time. My guess (for what it’s worth) is that it’ll have a screen for sure. Either way, it’ll be super interesting to see what they cook up.
Best is to be combined!!
Umm it’s not just for fitness lol. It’s health in general.
Your comments get dumber by the day. Where did I say it was for fitness exclusively? Good luck selling a “health band” without a time indicator too loser! It will look real nice next to your life alert necklace.
@chris of course it will show the time. Now please relax, it’s not going to notify you that your fat, stupid, and in poor health in general. Relax.
Sorry you’re *** come on where’s the edit button?
This, or even a narrow long screen wrapping around the top of your wrist would be great. Please, please, please, no big blocks, whether square or round, that look like you strapped an iPod to your wrist.
Say what you will about the ugly blocks, but the Moto 360 is gorgeous. The razor thin bezels + round design mean you can pull off a screen of acceptable size without making it look ugly or be uncomfortable.
I guess you saw the motley fool ad as well.
I HAD THE EXACTLY SAME IDEA (all-caps because I don’t know how to properly apply emphasis)
Just imagine the mock-up slide in the picture were true. It’d be the iPhone all over again: Apple naming 3 product categories; concluding that it’s actually one device; showing an awful Apple watch design; showing 4 other smartwatches; mocking them; finishing with the real deal, breaking all expectations.
Ohhh, the nostalgia…
I will disappointed if it has a traditional display. My instinct tells me it won’t. There is no added benefit to being able to respond to texts or look at photos on your wrist. That sounds like a real pain. My guess is that it will silently collect any any all health stats you want it to and function as a health band as well as include a host of other peripheral features for your iPhone. The ‘watch’ will have Siri which in turn will interface with home kit, health kit, your iPhone, Mac, Apple TV etc, so you’ll be able to request things like. “Pre-heat the oven to 350.” or “Remind me later to call Mom.” or “Text Lauren my current location.” or “Add Breaking Bad to my viewing queue.” It will likely have some sort of haptic indicator like a vibration to indicate new messages, or a timer being down, etc. Hopefully it will also use a data network to connect to iCloud so you don’t need to be directly tethered to your iPhone at all times. This is my best guess and my hope. I want less displays in my life.
If true the main questions for me (besides all its functional applications of course) are:
1. How much?
2. How long before release?
Is the release of this product imminent or is it an early unveil somewhere along the lines of the Mac Pro?
I’m guessing there will be a decent gap between announcement and release since this is a completely new product line. Probably shipping a month or more after the event, but still before the holidays.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it was even after the holidays. There was a 4 month gap between iPhone unveiling and release. A 2 month gap for the iPad. About 6 months gap for the new Mac Pro. So while it’s completely possible to be released in time for Christmas, don’t be surprised if it’s January or Feb.
The iPhone was unveiled way before it was actually ready to being mass production according to stories that have come out how it was barely able to complete the demos on stage at Macworld.
I don’t see them announcing a wearable until it’s actually ready to begin production.
If Apple’s smart watch won’t be round shaped, Apple gonna loose this time…
Ah a doomsayer. Apple is gonna lose. I think you lose already for not even knowing the difference between lose and loose.
Like
Haha, buuuurn :D
Yeah. Non-native English speakers are total losers!
Even native English speakers are losers…like Americans…yup…they say “more better”
I agree. One only has to look around at who is wearing the current smart watches to see that they currently only appeal to male, geeky guys with no sense of style.
For the iWatch to have broad appeal it must be attractive, slim and go with all your outfits. I don’t know any women (or any men with any sense of style) that would wear a Pebble or most of the other stuff that’s been shown so far.
We can absolutely trust Apple house for both design, tasteful design and functions! Just look at all their products!
If it is round they will fail. It won’t be round.
It will have curved sides most likely, not round though.
For the love of God I hope it is round. The only attractive smart watch so far is the Moto 360. The square design adds unnecessary screen real estate that takes up space on your arm, makes the device heavier, and is unattractive. One of the primary goals of a smart watch is to look like a watch.
What an arbitrary demand. Round design is a vestigial leftover from when watch hands rotated in circles. There is no reason, other than tradition, to slavishly stick with a circle.
None of Apple’s other iconic products (iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad) have looked like their competitors/predecessors. Their design exceeded our imaginations and set the standard for others to mimic.
I’m not saying the iWatch CAN’T be round. But clamoring for a round Motorola-type watch seems an awful lot like saying “the rumored iPhone better be as good as the Razr!” in ’06. Have a little imagination :)
The question for me is, “Is there any way that the actual device can live up to all the incredible hype leading up to its announcement?”.
Sadly, probably not. Which often happens with Apple products. People have such sky-high expectations (mostly unreasonable) for Apple. When we do see a new product announcement there will always be disappointment.
We’ve seen it already with the iPhone 6 leaks. Some hate the antenna bands, some hate the protruding camera. And yet they always manage to quickly get over it and hand over their money anyway.
The original iPad reviews weren’t quite good either…
This is very true. People have a need for having their mind’s blown, which in reality is a once a decade thing in the tech world, at best. Lighting doesn’t strike twice that often and making things that blow minds is very hard these days as people have extremely desensitized minds. Thanks to the speed of technological change, science fiction movies and TV, and general first world boredom, we do have completely unrealistic expectations for consumer gadgets which cost under $1000. So there’s always a let down of excitement, but then we realize the new product is still fantastic and usually better than everything before it, and go buy it. Apple somehow has become #1 in this regard of having unrealistic expectations placed on it, probably because of how it re-invented several markets in the past decade.
Ah a doomsayer. Apple is gonna lose. I think you lose already for not even knowing the difference between lose and loose.
Financially, probably not. If investors/analysts are looking for another iPhone-scale moneymaker, they’re going be disappointed. That was a once-every-20-years home run.
If we limited our thinking to Pebble-like notification devices, Apple’s wearable would be a disappointment. But with iOS 8, a foundation for FANTASTIC applications has been laid. Between iBeacons, TouchID, Continuity, HealthKit (+medical tech dream team in Cupertino) and HomeKit, the possibilities are limitless. Health, medical record keeping, fitness, home automation, authentication, mobile payments, and indoor navigation are all possibilities, even if it takes a couple of years to reach its full potential.
It could be yet another feather in Apple’s cap, on the scale of the Mac (single digit billions of dollars in revenue).
Everything I would want from an iWatch is that it is a rounded device showing me the time, notifications and other general things like weather etc. I think most people would be happy with that one.
My question is, how is the battery life? Right now, most smart watches have really horrible battery life. Consumers have yet to jump on the smart watch bandwagon yet, for the most part. The only way that will happen is if the battery life is much better than it currently is.
I don’t think Apple will introduce a iWatch because nobody found any ” dummys ” from the iWatch.
There are so many leaked parts from the iPhone 6, but nothing from the iWatch.
That’s because the iPhone is released soon after it is announced since it is an existing product line. There will probably be a 1-2 month gap between announcement and release of the wearable, just like when the iPad was first announced. This gives them time to ramp up mass production after it is announced rather than before.
My opinion means nothing because I don’t have any inside information – but I’m guessing the iPhone 6 leaks are controlled by Apple. Why else would they be the only product that gets leaked?
It’s the highest selling by far. It has the most money behind leaks. There have been iPad leaks.
I offer three theories….
1) The leaks are intentional, by Apple, to build excitement and get lots of free advertising. This would go along with Steve Jobs’ type of thinking, and the leaks started while he was still around.
2) The leaks are bogus, all fakes and/or Chinese knockoffs. People either know they are fake and post them just to mess with the world, or think they are real iPhone parts.
3) Being an existing product line, parts are all over the supply chain, which simply cannot be so perfectly policed to avoid leaks. But the iWatch likely is not in production yet and there’s only a bunch of prototypes (maybe even finalized) locked away in secret rooms at Apple HQ, which they built internally. Apple does have some low yield manufacturing capability for prototypes internally. Therefore, no leaked iWatch parts because no one on the outside is making them yet in any “leakable” volume. I mean, if Apple ordered 10 tiny iWatch screens and a few logic boards, that won’t leak. It’ll be carried onto a plane in a steel briefcase handcuffed to the man, lol.
Your #3 is the closest to being correct.
The yield on the iPhone 6 will be about 90 million devices for the end of the year which is insane. The yield on a more niche product like an iWatch will be a fraction of that.
You can easily control a small yield (no part leaks on mac pro, Macbook Pro Retina had no leaks, AppleTV Gen 2 had no leaks) but a large yield like the iPhone 6 that is being made in multiple factories all across Asia, you can’t possibly control. Too many workers to control.
The fact that there aren’t MORE leaks is astounding to me considering what it can do for a blog or website.
There are many Apple products (and primarily they are “first-runs” of products), that were not leaked at all before their announcements.
It’s actually quite typical for Apple to maintain absolute secrecy on a new product. It’s only when they get to the iterations of familiar products that the leaks really ramp up.
For the record, you can buy Samsung wearable already.
Apple is rushing out its lineup to hold on to market share.
Hopefully it will live up to its hype and not crash and burn like Maps, Siri and other products the company has released when they weren’t ready.
Okey, the “market share” claimshowder…..
People who already have iPhones won’t run out and buy a Moto 360 will they? Seems like the integration between those two products won’t be there. So it makes sense that if you have an Android phone you buy an Android wearable. iPhone users will get the iWatch.
Android wearables have more competition with each other than with the iWatch. Unless Apple can make it a standalone product, rather than just an iPhone add-on.
All Andriod users will buy the iWatch too, because it will be standalone like all of their categories. It will track your biometrics, and function in that respect 100% on it’s own. It will just be so much more if you have an iPhone too.
You’re a little backwards on this one… The Samsung wearables WERE NOT READY, yet they were released to very little public interest; mainly because they are terrible. Apple has been working on this for years, as evident by the steady increase in R&D spending over the past few years. When it’s finally released, I don’t think anyone will be able to describe the iWatch as a “rushed” product.
Android “wearables” are anything but (even the Galaxy Fit, which is the best of the lot). Might as well strap an iPod Nano to your wrist (oh wait, THAT is what Samsung was copying).
I don’t think any company has a big enough share of the smart watch market for Apple to rush out its product.
yeah it’s barely even a market. It’ll explode with the iWatch drops.
You are way off sir. Samsung is the company that rushed wearables to market, not Apple. Apple is taking it’s time, making all sorts of strategic hires, while Samsung releases a few versions of it’s flopped wearables which have received very weak reviews from all online tech sites. Samsung also rushed a fingerprint sensor on the GS5 in a “me too” Hail Mary using old swiping technology which works terribly as evidenced by all the reviews of how poorly the fingerprint scanning works on it, as well as my own demo experience. Maps was a mistake and was rushed, and it cost an executive his job. That’s what happens when things get rushed by Apple, heads roll. Meanwhile, it’s standard practice by a company like Samsung. And Siri? Siri was not rushed. Siri was released in BETA. It was in Beta for at least a year. You know, like how Gmail was in beta for a very long time too. Some products can only be improved if used by millions of people, especially ones which rely on so much server side processing where more inputs improve recognition algorithms. Today Siri works like a champ, and it’s not in Beta anymore.
So no, the facts are against your point. Samsung has been rushing to market lately to be first with things. Apple is taking it’s damn time. Taking forever to make larger screen iPhones and quite late with the wearables to also get it right.
i think the Siri BETA is an interesting comment. do you think it’s possible that some functionality from this iWatch might also beta? when I look at other fitness products, particularly the Amiigo (which I am still waiting on since March 2013, grr), they are sort of still in beta and building up a user base and gathering biometrics to interpret & learn. I think this could also be the case with apple, sort of like the biometric version of voice recognition. if i recall correctly, they have still been hiring people recently who have experience with FDA approvals. maybe they will try getting a large amount of information from (version 1) users, improve and eventually take it to the FDA. but the again, im not sure how “commercial” a health-based product in a beta stage would be.
Android wearables are pretty much clueless. They know smart watches are going to be popular, but they aren’t sure why. They take the technology from your phone and throw it on your wrist and say, “There. You can read recipes on your wrist!” They start with the technology and hope that we find out a way to use it.
Apple starts with what people want and work backwards to the technology. Apple will tell us WHY we need this wearable and then the Android smart watches will follow suit.
At first Apple’s wearable will do just a few things and do them well. But it will expand year over year.
Exactly they know nothing without Apple showing them. This device will be for tracking biometrics which actually MAKES SENSE, you know… since you’re wearing it all the time.
I honestly feel bad for the other companies at how oblivious and stupid they are.
No, Apple throws money at celebrities and advertising.
Samsung’s wearable is one of the worst things ever designed, in both form and function.
Secondly Apple isn’t rushing you are so stupid I swear to god hahah. Apple didn’t release a wearable years ago because they are getting it right. Wow you are stupid.
P.S. Apple’s will make Samsung’s look like it is the worst device on the planet. Apple’s has a reason for being: biosensors. Samsung’s has multiple reasons for not being: it’s design, functions, features, battery life, etc.
And how many Samsung wearable do you own and use? Or are you just pulling facts out if your behind?
Smoothie- you are the reason this website should have restrictions based on age, IQ and maturity. Your posts ad nothing to the conversation.
Herb you are a complete troll. You are a diehard samsung fan and come on here for no reason other than to rile up the Apple fans on an Apple website. If you really believe the things you say then you are too stupid to even deserve to post.
The iPod design was iconic, the iPhone too and the iPad… what would make this device design an iconic design? Will it require an iPhone to take full advantage of it? Would it work alone and act as a bridge to other iDevices?
+1. These actually are really great questions and I can’t wait to find out!
It will stand alone and act as a bridge to bring you into Apple. It will track biometrics as that’s the point of the device. It will also be extremely great when paired with an iOS device, specifically an iPhone, and when Andriod users purchase it to track their biometrics, they’ll be more likely to drop their junk Andriod based phone into the garbage and get an iPhone.
I feel like Cartman waiting for the Nintendo Wii…. I need to be frozen for 2 weeks and thawed on September 9th, I can’t take this anymore!!
LOL, just kidding.. can you imagine if I, a grown man, was really like that?
I cannot even begin to describe how excited I am about the iWatch, Bluetooth 4.0 and HomeKit. There are so many cool integrations you could do with iBeacon-type hardware in appliances, etc. I want my lights to turn on when my watch is in the room and turn off when I’m not in the room. This kind of stuff is killer and could be HUGE for the internet or things and new appliance hardware. I will be first in line building apps for the iWatch – that’s for sure!
Check out my most popular free iOS app, PaperBox. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/paperbox-document-scanner/id814252277?mt=8
Yes sir, and I think Apple should but this company if they haven’t already: http://www.getnymi.com
and implement that ECG unlock technology in the iWatch. It would be constantly authenticated when on your wrist and constantly locking when off. You would never have to physically unlock things when it was on. Imagine walking to your car door or house and the doors unlocking automatically based on your distance and the fact that your iWatch is authenticated being that it’s on your wrist and constantly monitoring your unique ECG. All of your Apple products wouldn’t need to be unlocked when you use them and your iWatch is on, everything just locks and unlocks automatically based on your distance from them.
When are they announcing the new iPads?
October.
Clever graphic on this article, Zac.
Are we expecting an iPad reveal at the same event next month as well, or at a seperate event?
October event.
Other bad predictions:
Apple plastic sweat suit
Apple Belt Buckle
Apple Monocle
Apple Cock Ring
Please let the sheep know where they should line up for those products.
The only sheep I see are those wandering into the Microsoft store or those conned into buying an Apple-inspired device from Samsung.
The only sheep I see are the samsung fan boys that lurk on Apple sites hahah. They are the iSheep, now I get it!!
I love your Graphics Zac. It gave me a great feeling.
Has Apple officially announced a September 9th event? I can’t find anything but rumors. Less than two weeks away, I would think an Official Apple announcement would be out by now.
Nope. Apple sends out the press invitations 1 week and 1 hour before the event, they did that for the last 4 non-WWDC ones at least! So that means they should do it on Tuesday, September 2 on 9 PM Cupertino time… ;)
Just a thought – iWatch will be a TV-related offering. Think about, i + “watch” describes a person watching a TV.
No it describes a person watching their biometrics because the watch is constantly monitoring them. It’s the only real smartwatch thus far. Just like the iPhone was the first real smartphone
The term iWatch was coined by analysts and pundits in regards to a *wearable* device that Apple is purportedly working on. The name was not something that was “leaked”.
Alongside iPhone makes a lot more sense than at a random event later on….as this product has always been destined to be an iPhone accessory….or rather, THE iPhone accessory.
If it is indeed launched alongside iPhone, there will be a lot of money made in the 4th quarter.
Yeah I don’t think it will be an accessory. It will function on it’s own. It will be it’s own category and all Apple categories function on their own. Will it work extremely well with an iPhone or other iOS device? Yes, but that’s not it’s purpose.
I think you are correct. Awhile back they moved away from the iPhone/iPad being a “second-class citizen” to the computer because they realized that codependence wasn’t a good look. I feel like they will take that lesson learned on this too..
I cannot wait! I hope this is true. I will get the 4.7 phone and iWatch in less than a month.
and 5.5 iPhone in less than a year.
Before the holiday shopping season this year*
Read the article, then come back to this section.
No. Apple did not release a wearable gadget yet. The picture below is photo shopped. Stay tuned for more of the latest Apple news.
I tend to think like some of the people here that have replied. I think it’s going to have to be more like a band than a watch. I think a watch is too much of a jewelry accessory type of a piece. There are a lot of people that don’t wear watches but you see many people wearing a simple rubber type band around the wrist with WWJD, live Strong, their company logo… I think if they make it a watch it may limit itself but then again it is Apple and I’m sure it will be amazing and regardless of what it looks like I know for a fact I will own one.
I think a band for sure, (at least that is what I am hoping for, because it don’t want a watch). But why not two types? A watch and a band.
So you think more people would buy a fitness band than a watch? Never. Never is that going to happen.
iWatch, iPhone 4.7″ and 5.5″ unveiled on the 9th of September. September 19 iPhone 4.7″ released. October 22 iPad even with ore demos of iWatch. Halloween release of iPads, 5.5″ iPhone and iWatch.
Then you know what to give out to trick r treaters!
They will get Snickers while I play with my new IPad and hopefully 5.5″ iPhone.
This really seems like a health-device. I really hope that they put other, much more important, basic capabilities in. If it’s just for health tracking I’m not going to get one. And I think a lot of people are with me then, I just don’t rely (resp. care) about my pulse etc on a daily basis… That would be a niche product and I really can’t think of apple releasing such a thing while Android Wear has the logical capabilities a SmartWatch should have (things like Notification Overview)…
With this new iWatch I can FINALLY be able to tell the time, check my texts, weather and track distance in the go