It’s an old rumour, but a persistent one – are Apple ever going to get around to releasing the mythical iWatch?
There have been many reports in the past about Apple’s rumoured foray into wearable computing, but it looks like this may be the first one to bear fruit: according to inside sources, Apple currently has a 100-strong team working on the device, and it’s fast approaching prototype stage. (This is backed up by the Kickstarter Pebble Smartwatch concept: according to the developers, creating the software for the Android version of the Pebble was a ground-up endeavour, but an iOS version of the device was easy, due to Bluetooth software hooks that were already present - suggesting Apple already had plans in this direction.) But while anticipation is running extremely high, people don’t seem to be sure about what the iWatch actually does. What we do know is that it will be capable of connecting via Bluetooth to other Apple devices such as the iPhone and iPad, enabling users to perform simple tasks without having to take out their phone or tablet. Simple tasks include such day-to-day interaction as checking texts, posting to Twitter and even controlling music playback on your phone or tablet, making the iWatch essentially a remote control. But the technology is capable of many more exciting things.
The iWatch could, for example, be used as a fitness augmentation. While worn, the watch could perform tasks such as monitoring heart-rate, tracking their running routes and acting as a pedometer, enabling easier and more intuitive workouts. Even more beneficially, the iWatch might have possible health applications, monitoring the status of the wearer in order to notify them when anything untoward changes in their body. Built-in navigation and radio access would make the iWatch the perfect companion for the frequent traveller. Best of all, the Bluetooth link-up to your iPhone would keep the iWatch sleek and svelte, because all of those added extra features that bulk up a Smartphone (such as Wi-Fi connectivity, GPS and cellular capacity) are already included in the iPhone itself – the iWatch would just be piggybacking off them. This would, essentially, turn your phone into a pocket server, opening the doorway for many other exciting emergent technologies in the future.
While we’ll have to wait and see to get a handle on exactly what the iWatch is capable of, only one thing is certain at this juncture – the iWatch is definitely coming. Insider leaks have been thick and fast, but external factors such as Apple hiring an OLED expert away from LG strongly suggest that Apple have a keen interest, if nothing else, in flexible glass displays, such as the one shown off by Samsung at this year’s CES. Flexible glass would be the perfect material to make a Smartwatch from. And the success of the Pebble can’t have gone unnoticed, either – with 85,000 pre-orders and a price-tag between $115 and $125, this indie, crowd-sourced project is currently putting Apple to shame (while handily raising the profile of the Smartwatch at the same time). It’s a brand new marketplace for Apple to make it big, and we have no doubts that they’re going to seize the opportunity with their characteristic showmanship and enthusiasm!
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But as a site that manufactures mobile phone peripherals, our chief area of interest lies in Google’s mobile phone operating system – the freely distributed Android OS. Owing to this open-source policy of distribution, Google have successfully manoeuvred themselves into a position of supremacy in the Smartphone market; the concept of a mobile OS that can be tinkered with extensively is an attractive prospect for companies like Samsung and HTC, who incorporate their own GUIs to ensure browsing their unique phones is a singular experience. It’s the anti-iOS: unlike Apple’s proprietary operating system, which is singularly linked to the experience of owning an iPhone, Android prides itself on its diversity and usefulness across a broad spectrum of devices.
But Google, clever company that they are, know that there’s always room for improvement, and they’re looking to their competitors for inspiration. In the past, Microsoft attempted to run their Windows OS across different types of devices, such as tablets, phones and desktops, to provide a homogenous user experience, building up brand familiarity. Their efforts, sadly, failed. This stands in contrast to Apple’s successful policy of building up a brand through marketing, while utilizing thoroughly different operating systems for different devices – just compare the iOS, their iPhone operating system, to the OS X, the classic operating system of their wildly popular Macs. Keeping this in mind, Google are opting to move towards a gradual conflation of Android, their Smartphone operating system, and Chrome OS, their cloud-based operating system that recently debuted on their chromebook and chrometop devices.
It makes sense from a business perspective. In the past, Google had to adopt the simpler Android system for phones, because they lacked the processing power to run software as sophisticated as that found in the Chrome OS. But as Smartphones grow smarter, and prices gradually decrease, it’s becoming more and more cost effective and easy to premiere powerful, versatile software like Chrome OS on a device small enough to hold in one hand. But they don’t want to make the mistake that Microsoft did, which was, essentially, brutally ramming an operating system designed for desktops across platforms that simply didn’t complement it. So their plan is to smoothly and organically combine the two platforms, taking the best features of each to create a seamless (but still distinctive) browsing experience. Their Chrome web browser has already made its debut on Android 4.0, marking Google’s first steps into convergence; who knows what kind of conflated Chrome/Android powerhouse could be created by the time the 5.0 or 6.0 versions roll around?
It’s easy to lose yourself in the clouds (or perhaps simply place your head in cloud-based storage for a time) when thinking of such heady notions, but for the casual consumer, there’s likely to be little change. Google is a superb company ran by bright and forward-thinking people; they’re sure to retain the unique elements that make Smartphones and desktops special, no matter how similar the operating systems of each may become!
