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Apple Said To Be Working On a 'Watch-Like Device'
The WSJ reports that Apple is "experimenting with designs for a watch-like device that would perform some functions of a smartphone, according to people briefed on the effort." An excerpt: The company has discussed such a device with its major manufacturing partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., one of these people said, as part of explorations of potentially large product categories beyond the smartphone and tablet. Apple's efforts come as companies have introduced various kinds of wearable gadgets, mainly designed to measure physical activity. More sophisticated devices face big technical challenges, but also are attracting investments from large technology companies. Foxconn, as Hon Hai is also known, has been working on a spate of technologies that could be used in wearable devices, one of these people said. In particular, the Taiwan-based company has been working to address the challenges of making displays more power-efficient and working with chip manufacturers to strip down their products."
Kind of like this? http://getpebble.com/
The return of the iPod Nano!
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it! --Longbottle
Apple won't be able to blame any malfunctions on "holding it wrong."
With only one button on it. The button says "PAY".
I stopped wearing a watch years ago because I could pull my phone (not even a smart one) out of my pocket to see what time it was.
I'd be interested to know how many people still wear a watch as anything more than a big piece of jewellery.
If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
Because everything Apple does is super important! Even a rumor about them possibly thinking about making a gadget that 100 other companies are also working on is important enough to get an immediate front page on Slashdot.
Negative moral value of force outweighs the positive value of good intentions.
And I should give a rat's ass...because???
Actually you do give a rat's, you posted a message. If you truly didn't give a rat's ass you would have skipped over this story without posting
Apple was so good with daylight saving and news years alarms calculation that a apple watch is certainly a good idea.
The problem is:
A) The display
B) The interface
The closest Apple has come to a watch is the iPod Nano (6th gen) which had a whole host of problems, namely that the screen (and therefore the interface) was tiny. Assuming the Nano 6th gen as a template in size, what functions of my smartphone could that easily replace? Music playback would work, but not videos, nor would web or messaging work all that well. I suppose a game or two might not be too bad. But other than that I'm at a loss as to what it could have that my smartphone has. Streaming music perhaps? But really, the screen is going to be too tiny to be usable.
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
It should read "Apple working on likable device that watches you (better). "
Silence is a state of mime.
Sony already makes an Android watch, the SmartWatch ...
But this will be Apple's ... Ooooh ... Shiny ...
2bits.com, Inc: Drupal, WordPress, and LAMP performance tuning.
Tog has a better take on the iWatch: http://asktog.com/atc/apple-iwatch/
Not to mention that dozens of these are already on the market, some specific to the Android world, some rather generic.
Sony has bluetooth Smartwatches and LiveView watchs that let you check email, messages, etc without taking the phone out of your pocket.
These are peripherals for your phone.
There are also full phones that actually seems to get good reviews. Some of these are actually fairly inexpensive.
But, hey, if Apple makes it and charges $596, they will sell millions because it will be the best thing ever.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
And during later years Apple will be remembered being the one which "invented" this thing.
Hi, you must be new here. Slashdot is a moderated site, meaning enough people were interested to mod the initial story up so that it made it as a published story. That also means your somewhat slanted view of what is news and what isn't doesn't mesh completely with all the folks on this site. Welcome to the internet. Not everyone will agree with you, or want the same stories as you would like to see.
I might suggest in the future you simply ignore the post, or mod it down prior to it being published rather than whining about it after the fact, clicking on the link, and posting a response to the story, which in turn makes the post look more valuable in 'clicks' as well as measured by activity.
You might want to think that through for a moment ;)
...because???
Samsung will soon come out with one and you will need to tell the Fanboys why Apple is behind in the important Smart Watch market.
Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
So? When Microsoft released the Surface Pro, it did what Microsoft wanted (as limited by technology and budget; I'm sure Microsoft wanted 10 hours of battery life but didn't get it). Same for Samsung, Motorola, etc.
It seems like you are implying that "Apple releases features that Apple wants, not that consumers want." If you're not saying this, then please clarify. If you are saying this, then I think the evidence proves you wrong.
Long Long Ago, there were many MP3 players which all did what their manufactures wanted (and what their manufacturers thought consumers wanted). They sold okay, but then Apple released an MP3 player with fewer features but a different interface and musical ecosystem. Tech folks scoffed (No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.) but after a few iterations, consumers found that they loved Apple's features more than other players' features. You can clearly divide the MP3 market into "before Apple" and "after Apple" portions with a huge feature shift for all successful players at the break. Exact same thing happened with smart phones. Exact same thing happened with tablets. Given Apple's record, there is a good chance this could happen with a theoretical iWatch.
Look, I've got lots of issues with Apple, but arguing that they do not give users what they want is difficult. If you make an argument that contradicts all available data, you must first give an explanation which doesn't involve every consumer except you being a brainless zombie (but only for exactly one product), a nefarious deception performed years ago by forward-thinking Kenyan grandparents, perfect collusion between all climatologists, or some other unlikely conspiracy theory.
And plenty of people on /. will remind us frequently that they didn't invent it, but somehow leave out the detail that all of the existing devices shifted to the Apple form factor and user interface shortly after the Apple release.
Foxconn and Hon Hai are manufacturers (like the summary says). Apple (and other tech companies) work with them the same way you'd work with, say, a metal foundry somewhere to have them manufacture some parts you've designed. The main reason for this is you can't just invent something (especially technology), and just ask people to build it for you, they need to be able to.
So, this wrist-contoured glass. It sounds like Foxconn has been working on a new process for this, and have been looking for a way to get customers to pay them to build stuff for them using it. In this case, working with Apple to work it into a new watch.
The engineering for the watch itself will be all Apple. The engineering behind how to manufacture it will be a collaboration between Apple and Foxconn (or whoever), the same way Apple (and everyone else) has always done it. This is similar to how the processes for manufacturing the unibody aluminum enclosures and the iPhone 5 parts matching system was developed.
What you're thinking is a private label system, with some companies engage in (not Apple), where you might see the exact same product that gets labeled with different brands from different companies, similar to how some store brands (especially food and household supplies) are done.
Not to mention that dozens of these are already on the market, some specific to the Android world, some rather generic.
And notice how no one uses them or even remembers them until Apple makes one.
It's not, like you seem to think, that Apple is some also-ran that is late to the party, but somehow gets all the credit. It's that Apple tends to put in the inordinate effort required to take a product that is simply neat tech and make it great.
That's why people get excited.
"Sony's making a watch that connects to your phone? That's cool. I probably won't get one (or even see on in person, ever), but it's cool."
"Apple's making one? I can hardly wait to see what they come up with!"
Do you get excited when MS comes up with a new online service? Probably not. What about Google? Yeah, me too. Excitement with Apple and hardware works much the same way.