Apple have just applied for a patent for their iWatch, which is the latest – and strongest – indication yet that the iWatch is on its way.
This comes on the back of March’s supplier news, which seemed to indicate that the iWatch technology was still at least three years away from becoming a reality.
The suppliers, who are responsible for developing the Willow glass which is the front-runner to be used on the iWatch, stated that the technology was still some way off being finalised. It was their stated belief that nothing could happen for at least three years. However in technology, that’s an eternity, and if it was the case, its likely that any iWatch project would have been virtually sandboxed to allow for more pressing development. It increasingly seems that is not the case though.
Other rumours suggest that Apple is now pushing ahead with its iWatch plans with renewed vigour. The unnamed sources recently claimed that the company are dedicating over 100 members of staff to the project. If this is the case, it is clear that the iWatch has moved beyond ‘experimentation’ and a more solid prototype is being developed and tested.
The iWatch may find that its biggest natural competitor is the Google Glass product. We recently ran a story looking in-depth at the latest Google initiative, where we asked if Glass will be a success or will it fail and become the Segway mark II. It was a provocative title but raised some solid points of concern about this latest wearable technology. These concerns now seem to be shared by Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook.
Read: Talk to the hand: 5 wearable technology trends of the future
Judging by his latest interviews, Cook is less than excited by the Google Glass project. Naturally, this is always hard to judge,m as APple and Google are now fully certified competitors. They compete on tablets, smart phones and seemingly soon, around wearable technology.
Despite the competition, Cook’s comments were interesting. He said:
“I’m interested in a great product. I wear glasses because I have to. I don’t know a lot of people who wear them because they don’t have to. There’s nothing that’s going to convince a kid that’s never worn glasses or a band or a watch or whatever to wear one. At least I haven’t seen it. So
there’s lots of things to solve in this space.” Tim Cook, CEO Apple inc
Cook’s points are interesting, probably valid even, but time will tell whether the market reacts any more favourably to an Apple watch. What can’t be denied is that Google are much further ahead on their product, with fully working prototypes. It was reported recently that the worlds first Google Glass augmented surgery was carried out, and its known that Googlers are extensively testing the product on the companies campuses around the world.
