Apple has barely hinted that it's interested in developing watches, but the rumor mongers already off to the races with speculation.
Reports citing anonymous sources familiar with Apple's internal development indicate that the Cupertino-based company is currently developing an iWatch that can reportedly sync up with an iPhone or other iOS device and give updates straight to your wrist.
As the rumors grow louder, some artists have decided to go ahead and mock up what they think the iWatch will look like once Apple is ready to unveil the product. One is designed by Esben Oxholm at Yanko Design, and the concept shows off a watch that definitely looks like something the iPhone makers might release.
Sporting the much-rumored curved screen display, Oxholm's design is slender, sleek and bracingly minimal. The screen would naturally be touch-enabled, and right below the watch face is the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad's recognizable home button. On the inside of the strap is Apple's famous logo, and the iWatch would be able to fit on anyone's wrist due to the ability to shorten or lengthen the band with detachable spacers.
Of course, Oxholm isn't working with any insider information here; it's important to note that this design is simply a mock-up created by a third party, and indicates neither a final Apple product design nor a prototype.
The iWatch is expected to run on iOS and come with a 1.5-inch OLED display that measures 100 microns thick, or about as thin as a piece of paper. Apple allegedly has over 100 people working on turning the concept into reality. Siri and iCloud functionality is also rumored to be in the works, as is the possibility that users will be able to charge the phone wirelessly.
Former Apple executive Jean-Louis Gassée expects the iWatch to be a significant part of Apple's portfolio going forward, an extension of the company's personal computer strategy and a more interesting product than the Apple TV.
"Is Apple working on an iWatch that can be experienced as an even-more-personal personal computer - an 'intimate computer?" asked Gassée. "If so, many questions arise: user interface, sensors, iOS version, new types of apps, connection with other iDevices ... And, of course price."
"This would be much more interesting than the perennially in-the-future Apple TV set. Of course, iWatch and Apple TV aren't necessarily mutually exclusive," he noted.
