Apple’s iWatch Is Coming in October, Reports Say
This Halloween, you might be able to wear an iWatch to go with your trick-or-treating costume.
Apple is planning to release its first wearable device –– likely the long-rumored “iWatch” –– in October, according to two new reports. Both Japan-based Nikkei and U.S.-based Re/code have heard from unnamed sources that Apple is targeting an October release date for a wristwatch-like, Internet-connected gadget, with an emphasis on fitness-tracking capabilities.
The watch, according to Nikkei, would feature a curved touchscreen display and would be able to both display notifications from your iPhone as well as track various health metrics, including your daily step count and your heart rate.
It would be Apple’s first ever wearable gadget, a category many analysts expect to explode in popularity over the coming years. Apple rivals like Samsung and Sony already sell smartwatches that can display smartphone notifications and track fitness measurements, though neither product has really caught on with the general public.
Like it’s done before with MP3 players (the iPod), smartphones (the iPhone), and tablets (the iPad), an Apple iWatch could make the Internet-connected, touchscreen-equipped wristwatch the newest trendy, must-have category of product.
The pieces are certainly falling into place for an Apple iWatch. This past week, at its Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple introduced a new Health app for iOS, which serves as a central hub for the device owner’s biometric and fitness information. For now, that information comes from devices made by companies other than Apple; with a fitness-tracking watch, however, Apple could control both the measuring and the storing of that data.
Apple exec Craig Federighi introduces the Health app at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference. (Associated Press)
Apple also recently released an advertisement playing up the health-tracking capabilities of its current devices:
Both Nikkei and Re/code are considered to be reliable sources for Apple prognostication. John Paczkowski, the Apple beat reporter at tech site Re/code, is thought to be especially well-connected, and his predictions for upcoming Apple events have often proved true. Paczkowski says Apple’s plans are subject to change; however, until we hear something different, you should expect an iWatch to arrive by All Hallow’s Eve.
