Apple is working on a smart watch. Any doubts about that rumor looked to be over, when reports of Apple filing a patent for the device surfaced.
According to the patent filing, Apple has come up with a device which is very similar to a watch, with a flexible touchscreen display and the ability to connect and synchronize with other Apple devices such as an iPhone via Bluetooth 4.
An extract from Apple’s patent filing below :
“A wearable video device arranged to be worn by an end-user, comprising: a flexible substrate having a flat state and a curled state; a flexible display disposed upon a first surface of the flexible substrate, wherein in the curled state the flexible substrate conforms to an appendage of the end-user, the flexible substrate further comprising: an electronic module in communication with the flexible display, the electronic module providing information to the display, at least a part of which is presented in real time for presentation by the flexible display; and a mechanism for detecting an end portion of the flexible display, the detection for adjusting the arrangement of information shown on the flexible display to match the size of the appendage the wearable video device is mounted on.”
There’s been a lot of interest in such a device, and there is a lot of speculation on the features of the “Apple iWatch”. In the patent, Apple states that viewing calls, viewing playlists, receiving and reading text messages and using maps would be possible. However, there is no mention of making or receiving phone calls, so it could be safe to assume that such a feature won’t be present in the device. One important feature that has been filed in the patent as well, is the use of solar and kinetic energy to power up the watch.
The Apple iWatch rumors first surfaced last August, in a report, which pointed towards a Bluetooth 4 link between the iPhone5 and a future generation iPod Nano.
The whole thing gained a lot of momentum last week, when Nick Bilton’s piece in NY Times specifically stated that ” Apple is experimenting with wristwatch-like device made of curved glass” that runs iOS. Quoting multiple anonymous sources, Bilton said that Apple is actively testing a watch-like device that isn’t very different from what the patent describes.