Both an "iWatch" and smart headphones would perfectly complement iPhone and increase Apples top and bottom lines. One or both might nicely fill in the product gap of the aging iPod. I see prices for either in the $399-$499 range. But which would I get?
I'm hoping for over-ear cans with built in iPod, however a smart wrist wearable with health monitoring (even without an OLED display-just sensors and BLE link to my iPhone) would be really, really cool. Maybe both will be announced this year?
An OLED display with a that ultra thin Helvetic Neue font could reduce the power output to the display significantly. And they could use sensors to know when it's on your side and when you're lifting it up to be used.
You know die watches have the physical bezel that can be turned? I could see an elegant solution that has a visceral clicking feel that would allow you to change modes, apps or whatever. This doesn't negate the need for a touchscreen, but it could add to it and make it natural to use.
When I look at nice watches, especially the smaller women's watches I wonder if we're there yet. I have no doubt that wearables are coming but I am not sure we're at a point where Apple can release a great wrist worn device that can be a worthwhile accessory to the iPhone (and potentially the iPad and Mac) without having such a horrible battery life or charging option that it kills interest as well as being something universally stylish without being more than a few hundred dollars..
I've looked at power requirements. An M7 chip clocked at even low-frequencies can still be more power hungry than the capacity of batteries in watches today that employ physical (motor driven) movements, by two orders of magnitude. I can't see how a smart watch today could get to within one order of magnitude. I agree, it just seems that we are currently perhaps, an order of magnitude behind the game in battery life and packaging over what we'd like to imagine an iWatch functionality/charge time would be. I would love to be wrong. :-)
I've looked at power requirements. An M7 chip clocked at even low-frequencies can still be more power hungry than the capacity of batteries in watches today that employ physical (motor driven) movements, by two orders of magnitude. I can't see how a smart watch today could get to within one order of magnitude. I agree, it just seems that we are currently perhaps, an order of magnitude behind the game in battery life and packaging over what we'd like to imagine an iWatch functionality/charge time would be. I would love to be wrong. :-)
It's my understanding that watch batteries are both small and don't utilize the densest capacity for its volume. What if they were to use the best LiPoly Ion battery tech and make the battery bigger? They still won't get the ability to go years without changing/charging, but what if it a week to 10 days of use and it charged completely in about 30 minutes (the time it takes to shower), like the Fitbit Force battery, and it had a smooth option to charge it, like inductive charging, no clumsy plug, unlike the Fitbit Force; I wonder if then it would be good enough to enter the market, assuming all other aspects of the technology are ready.
It's my understand that qatch batteries are both small and don't utilize the densest capacity for its volume. What if they were to use the best LiPoly Ion battery tech and make the battery bigger? They still won't get the ability to go years without changing/charging, but what if it a week to 10 days of use and it charged completely in about 30 minutes (the time it takes to shower), like the Fitbit Force battery, and it had a smooth option to charge it, like inductive charging, no clumsy plug, unlike the Fitbit Force; I wonder if then it would be good enough to enter the market, assuming all other aspects of the technology are ready.
Actually, I looked at this some time ago and just realised that I told only half the story - sorry. Battery capacities to which I was referring were those capable of being recharged solely by a watch face solar panel, such as employed in my lovely Citizen Eco-Drive. With modern battery technology and external charging, I'm sure that at least an order of magnitude improvement in performance would be possible, providing perhaps an acceptable recharging regime. I agree 100% with your thoughts on charging. Placing the watch into a nice cradle, even nightly (although I agree that this probably wouldn't be required) would be quite attractive as opposed to fiddling with cables, which are also unsightly. I've been spoiled in never having had to wind a mechanism, recharge a battery and only seldom correct the time. :-)
It's my understanding that watch batteries are both small and don't utilize the densest capacity for its volume. What if they were to use the best LiPoly Ion battery tech and make the battery bigger? They still won't get the ability to go years without changing/charging, but what if it a week to 10 days of use and it charged completely in about 30 minutes (the time it takes to shower), like the Fitbit Force battery, and it had a smooth option to charge it, like inductive charging, no clumsy plug, unlike the Fitbit Force; I wonder if then it would be good enough to enter the market, assuming all other aspects of the technology are ready.
I was looking at TAG Heuer watches, such as this one:
...which costs $5,850 locally and noted that one prominent feature is the use of a sapphire crystal cover glass. Apple might not be aiming for this market (is most surely not aiming for this market) but I'm becoming convinced that any iWatch will emulate such as these, be packed with sensing technology and as you wrote previously, a low-powered comms link.
If Apple is planning on releasing an iWatch, I would imagine it will need to be very dependent on Siri. Unfortunately, Siri is almost unusable for general purposes. Just today, while I was driving I asked, "Who won the Indianapolis 500?" Sire responded with, "This is what I found". Of course I can't read the screen while driving, so I said please read it to me. The gibberish that followed was so incoherent I can't even remember what she said. Eventually when I was no longer driving I was able to see she had offered up a wikipedia page on the definition of Indy 500. Useless. After giving Siri first crack I then turned to Google and unsurprisingly got a full run down of the exciting conclusion of the final laps, all in clear voice, although she did have a bit of trouble with the name of the Brasilian native Hello Castroneves' pronunciation.
I completely agree with you. I've had a very similar experience with Siri myself, while Google Now works flawlessly about 90 percent of the time for me. I only use Siri to call up my contacts and even that simple task can flummox it sometimes.
Okay, am I the only one who is AMAZED by the last prototype in that video?! Transparent screens as eye-glass lenses?! Forget your distaste for google Glass for one minute to consider the possibilities of that technology! We're talking Iron Man tech here! Can you imagine wearing a pair of discreet prescription glasses that lets you access your digital content without anyone knowing. Pair it with your phone, incorporate eye-tracking, as well as a camera, and you'll never need to look down at your phone or watch again! So long as the UI was "safe" and not too distracting, I think this could be the future. Exciting to think about anyway...
Just a minor correction, but Intrinsity was involved in the Samsung and then A series of processors for Apple. This is fairly well known information. As to PA Semi, they where involved in Power PC design for Apple before Apple pulled the rug out from under them. They then switched to a secret project before being purchased by Apple. It is believed that the project was focussed on Arm development. In a sense Apple wrecked the company by its rapid and sudden change to Intel and had to pick up the pieces of PA Semi left over.
Okay, am I the only one who is AMAZED by the last prototype in that video?! Transparent screens as eye-glass lenses?! Forget your distaste for google Glass for one minute to consider the possibilities of that technology! We're talking Iron Man tech here! Can you imagine wearing a pair of discreet prescription glasses that lets you access your digital content without anyone knowing. Pair it with your phone, incorporate eye-tracking, as well as a camera, and you'll never need to look down at your phone or watch again! So long as the UI was "safe" and not too distracting, I think this could be the future. Exciting to think about anyway...
For general use, I don't want a conceptual overlay on my field of vision. I could envision specific use cases, of course.
The latest out this morning claims the iWatch will look very similar to Moto's previously announced 360 smartwatch... Round but perhaps a bit slimmer. If true it will look nothing like the bangle-bracelet style shown above that someone somewhere mocked up months ago as a possible design.
Comments
How do you propose to text from a watch face?
Exciting stuff! I can't wait and hope something, anything, will be announced at WWDC.
Both an "iWatch" and smart headphones would perfectly complement iPhone and increase Apples top and bottom lines. One or both might nicely fill in the product gap of the aging iPod. I see prices for either in the $399-$499 range. But which would I get?
I'm hoping for over-ear cans with built in iPod, however a smart wrist wearable with health monitoring (even without an OLED display-just sensors and BLE link to my iPhone) would be really, really cool. Maybe both will be announced this year?
Take.My.Money!
An OLED display with a that ultra thin Helvetic Neue font could reduce the power output to the display significantly. And they could use sensors to know when it's on your side and when you're lifting it up to be used.
You know die watches have the physical bezel that can be turned? I could see an elegant solution that has a visceral clicking feel that would allow you to change modes, apps or whatever. This doesn't negate the need for a touchscreen, but it could add to it and make it natural to use.
When I look at nice watches, especially the smaller women's watches I wonder if we're there yet. I have no doubt that wearables are coming but I am not sure we're at a point where Apple can release a great wrist worn device that can be a worthwhile accessory to the iPhone (and potentially the iPad and Mac) without having such a horrible battery life or charging option that it kills interest as well as being something universally stylish without being more than a few hundred dollars..
I've looked at power requirements. An M7 chip clocked at even low-frequencies can still be more power hungry than the capacity of batteries in watches today that employ physical (motor driven) movements, by two orders of magnitude. I can't see how a smart watch today could get to within one order of magnitude. I agree, it just seems that we are currently perhaps, an order of magnitude behind the game in battery life and packaging over what we'd like to imagine an iWatch functionality/charge time would be. I would love to be wrong. :-)
Now if only I could rename her Computer
It's my understanding that watch batteries are both small and don't utilize the densest capacity for its volume. What if they were to use the best LiPoly Ion battery tech and make the battery bigger? They still won't get the ability to go years without changing/charging, but what if it a week to 10 days of use and it charged completely in about 30 minutes (the time it takes to shower), like the Fitbit Force battery, and it had a smooth option to charge it, like inductive charging, no clumsy plug, unlike the Fitbit Force; I wonder if then it would be good enough to enter the market, assuming all other aspects of the technology are ready.
It's my understand that qatch batteries are both small and don't utilize the densest capacity for its volume. What if they were to use the best LiPoly Ion battery tech and make the battery bigger? They still won't get the ability to go years without changing/charging, but what if it a week to 10 days of use and it charged completely in about 30 minutes (the time it takes to shower), like the Fitbit Force battery, and it had a smooth option to charge it, like inductive charging, no clumsy plug, unlike the Fitbit Force; I wonder if then it would be good enough to enter the market, assuming all other aspects of the technology are ready.
Actually, I looked at this some time ago and just realised that I told only half the story - sorry. Battery capacities to which I was referring were those capable of being recharged solely by a watch face solar panel, such as employed in my lovely Citizen Eco-Drive. With modern battery technology and external charging, I'm sure that at least an order of magnitude improvement in performance would be possible, providing perhaps an acceptable recharging regime. I agree 100% with your thoughts on charging. Placing the watch into a nice cradle, even nightly (although I agree that this probably wouldn't be required) would be quite attractive as opposed to fiddling with cables, which are also unsightly. I've been spoiled in never having had to wind a mechanism, recharge a battery and only seldom correct the time. :-)
It's my understanding that watch batteries are both small and don't utilize the densest capacity for its volume. What if they were to use the best LiPoly Ion battery tech and make the battery bigger? They still won't get the ability to go years without changing/charging, but what if it a week to 10 days of use and it charged completely in about 30 minutes (the time it takes to shower), like the Fitbit Force battery, and it had a smooth option to charge it, like inductive charging, no clumsy plug, unlike the Fitbit Force; I wonder if then it would be good enough to enter the market, assuming all other aspects of the technology are ready.
I was looking at TAG Heuer watches, such as this one:
https://shop-au.tagheuer.com/en/calibre-1887-automatic-chronograph-41-mm-car2111-ba0720.html
...which costs $5,850 locally and noted that one prominent feature is the use of a sapphire crystal cover glass. Apple might not be aiming for this market (is most surely not aiming for this market) but I'm becoming convinced that any iWatch will emulate such as these, be packed with sensing technology and as you wrote previously, a low-powered comms link.
Those renderings are gross- Apple sheep branding bracelets.
Who needs Internet access. Which you won’t have on the device.
Okay, am I the only one who is AMAZED by the last prototype in that video?! Transparent screens as eye-glass lenses?! Forget your distaste for google Glass for one minute to consider the possibilities of that technology! We're talking Iron Man tech here! Can you imagine wearing a pair of discreet prescription glasses that lets you access your digital content without anyone knowing. Pair it with your phone, incorporate eye-tracking, as well as a camera, and you'll never need to look down at your phone or watch again! So long as the UI was "safe" and not too distracting, I think this could be the future. Exciting to think about anyway...
God forbid.
Okay, am I the only one who is AMAZED by the last prototype in that video?! Transparent screens as eye-glass lenses?! Forget your distaste for google Glass for one minute to consider the possibilities of that technology! We're talking Iron Man tech here! Can you imagine wearing a pair of discreet prescription glasses that lets you access your digital content without anyone knowing. Pair it with your phone, incorporate eye-tracking, as well as a camera, and you'll never need to look down at your phone or watch again! So long as the UI was "safe" and not too distracting, I think this could be the future. Exciting to think about anyway...
For general use, I don't want a conceptual overlay on my field of vision. I could envision specific use cases, of course.