Apple to Release Bluetooth-Powered iWatch
Apple and Intel are working together to create and new Bluetooth-powered smartwatch that could be released sometime this year.
Supply chain sources reported this news last week and confirmed that the two companies are collaborating on this project.
This new smartwatch is rumored to have a 1.5-inch OLED screen, which is around the same size as the display found on the iPod Nano. A translation of the original report revealed that the display will be made from "a rhenium ocean of OGS encore indium tin oxide transparent conductive glass."
The first reports of this Apple watch originated in The New York Times, who published an article that noted a "very small group of Apple employees had been conceptualizing and even prototyping some wearable devices." One of them was an iPod that would fit on a person's wrists and be controlled with Siri.
The company has also recently passed several patents including its liquid metal patent, a cellular antenna patent, and others that mention integrating features into an iPod nano-like wristwatch form factor.
Apple recently redesigned the iPod Nano, giving it a 2.5-inch display and ditched the smaller, 1.5-inch square design introduced with the sixth generation model.
Customers were able to purchase watch straps for the version with the smaller screen, but Apple making it big again indicates that it might be planning to release a watch with iOS capabilities.
Sony released its very own smartwatch in 2012 which costs $149. It is powered by Android and can pair to any handset with Bluetooth.
It features a 1.5-inch OLED display and allows users to access email, text messages, calls, and other applications.
These types of devices will allow users to access a specific ecosystem on all of their electronics.