The much anticipated iWatch is said to be revealed alongside the two models of the new iPhone 6 this coming September 9th, which is in 4 days, 19 hours, 40 minutes, but who’s counting? We’re very, very excited.
But why should we be excited? What should we expect from the iWatch?
Check out our earlier article alongside this one to see who Apple have hired purportedly for the creation of the iWatch, and what that might mean for the technological features we can expect.
The iWatch will most likely have a range of health related capabilities from fitness tracking to sleep recording, heart monitoring and medication monitoring, among many others. There are reports that alongside the iPhone 6, the iWatch will also have NFC support allowing for mobile payments.
The watch is likely be able to be used as a standalone device but will be best used alongside and in coordination with an iPhone. There is a good chance that the iWatch will have a curved and flexible screen and… drumroll please… wireless charging. We certainly hope that rumor is true, because that would be, um, amazing.
We should expect a price point of around $400, but that’s a fairly wide shot in the dark at this stage. In fact, some reports are coming in that the price may not even be mentioned on September 9th when the iWatch is announced, as it won’t have been finalized yet. Further reports speculate that there will be a range of pricing based on differing model features.
Most of the people with secret sauces are saying that we, unfortunately, won’t see the iWatch shipped until early 2015. We still have a sliver of hope that we could see it in time for Christmas, but the chances are looking a little slim.
This is the first time in a while that Apple has released a completely new product, and it feels like it’s going to be a really nice, really useful tech device. AND REALLY BRAND SPANKING INNOVATION – Y ! YEAH!
Thanks to the lovely guys over at The Loop, we have for you the official invitation to the upcoming Apple media event – confirming that a big announcement will be made by Apple on September 9th.
The event is highly anticipated and expected to be unveiling two new models of the iPhone 6 and their new wearable tech product, currently referred to as the iWatch.
The invitations carry the tagline “Wish we could say more.”
The event will take place at 10:00 AM Pacific Time at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of De Anza College in Cupertino.
The Flint center hasn’t been used by Apple for a long time, but is the same location where Steve Jobs introduced the original Mac 30 years ago and holds a lot more people than the usual venues Apple uses for it’s announcements. Apple seems to be building a huge, highly guarded structure on the campus in preparation for the announcement on the 9th.
We sense something major coming this way…
It hasn’t been confirmed if Apple will be streaming the event or not ( we hope so) but we will keep you up to date to everything we know when we know it!
Exciting Apple rumors have intensified today amongst those who have previously proven to be in the know, as well as others, leading many to believe that the long awaited and highly anticipated iWatch will indeed be unveiled alongside the new iPhone on September 9th.
Say Wahhhhhhat?
That’s right. The guys over at Re/Code and many others are saying that come September 9th, the world will be shown 2 new iPhones and – One more thing – The iWatch.
It is believed that although the iPhone will then be released to the public roughly 10 days later, the iWatch won’t be available until later this year or even early 2015 ( we personally think that it will be available in time for Christmas shopping, but we’ve been wrong before).
Click here to see what to expect from the iWatch, and stay tuned for more rumors as we hear them about the upcoming iPhone 6 models AND the iWatch!
The iWatch rumors have ramped up recently, with sources claiming October will be when the new wearable Apple product will be announced.
Excited much?
Both Re/code‘s John Paczkowski and the Nikkei Asian Review Newspaper both have sources who both claim that come october there will be a special event to announce the watch, and that we can expect to see the new technology tie in closely with the Health App which Apple announced at WWDC and which will be available to the public with iOS 8 a month earlier.
Nikkei added that the wearable tech will have a curved OLED touchscreen and that Apple is expecting to sell up to 5 million units per month. Because it’s going to be an awesome product, obviously ( hopefully)!
Other rumors doing the rounds is that the iWatch will be a product of an Apple/Nike collaboration, that the iWatch face will be round and that it will come in two or more sizes. See our previous article on the iWatch to see the people Apple has hired to purportedly work on the product.
We know there’s a lot of anticipation and skepticism surrounding the idea of this product, so it will be interesting to see what happens when ( if?) it launches. We personally think it will surprise many of the doubters, that it will sell by the bucketload, that it’ll be rad, and that it will be announced in October and be available before Christmas.
We also like putting it all on black, so there you have it.
Taking place in San Francisco’s Moscone building, Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference will kick off with a 2 hour keynote speech headed by Tim Cook at 10AM PST, Monday the 2nd of June!
Are you psyched?
So here’s the deal as far as we know it.
Apple hasn’t announced the content of a lot of their WWDC sessions and they have been given names such as: “To be announced” “No comment”,”Shhh, can’t tell you” “This one is sealed”, and “You’ll never guess”.
Click on these sessions and Apple says: “The title and description of this session will be revealed after Keynote on Monday June 2. Check back to view the updates schedule.”
Sneaky and exciting.
We have been told that we can expect updates to iOS and OSX. We can most likely expect at least a mention of Beats By Dre and the deal they have made with Apple, and probably a cameo by the good Dr Dre himself. We can expect Jony Ive in his loveliness explaining awesome things (via video), and Tim Cook excitedly talking about inspiration and the future of technology and Apple’s role in making your world a better place.
We suspect that it is likely that we may see new ways to make mobile payments, as well as an introduction to the much rumored ‘Healthbook’, built into the updated iOS with health measuring and reporting capabilities.
The announcement of the iPhone 6 ( more than one? Bigger screen? No more bezels? Made of unicorn’s tears?) and the iWatch ( will it ever come!?) are also possibilities that a lot of people are eagerly anticipating- both of which, particularly the iWatch, would need a fair amount of time for the developers to create apps for them before their release. A lot of people are, however, skeptical that either, especially the iWatch will be mentioned at WWDC.
The Financial Times has recently reported that Apple could be introducing a way for you to certain functions in your home with Apple Devices, perhaps in combination with Apple TV. Functions that could be controlled from your iPhone or iPad could include lighting, security, temperature control and connected appliances like television and sound. These would all be controlled centrally, incorporated into the iOS, instead of through 3rd party apps.
And then we have this, beautifully phrased from the Apple Sauce direct:
Ooooooh. Well we’re excited. Stay tuned folks, we’ll be bringing you all the news and mysteries unraveled direct from the great city of San Francisco as it happens!
Apple’s annual World Wide Developers Conference dates have been announced!
This year the conference will run from June 2nd through to June 4th, and developers have had the opportunity to apply for random ticket selection up until today- a different approach to other years.
Here is the run down from Apple themselves:
So, what can we expect?
You should definitely expect to hear Tim Cook making announcements regarding the iPhone 6 and iOS 8 and outlining their release dates and specs. Apple TV will most likely be getting an upgrade, however an actual Apple TV will most likely not be making an appearance.
There is a chance an iWatch will be announced, although analysts and basically everyone in the tech world go back and forth on this one. We think there is a 72.5% chance, but we’re not betting the farm.
We’ll also get pretty video’s played at 9:42 am, inspirational speeches, and special appearances by Craig Federighi and Jony Ive!
The iWatch! Could it finally be on it’s way onto our super deserving wrists? Well, we think so. We’re almost as sure as we can really ever really be with an Apple product release, especially a completely new product release. Here’s a bunch of stuff we think we know about the iWatch.
Way, way back in 2008, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak confirmed to the Telegraph that “Apple’s future could lie in an ‘iWatch’.”
Then, in the midst of a thousand iWatch rumors, Apple trademarked ‘iWatch’ in Japan, Mexico, Russia and a number of other countries.
Tim Cook has said this about wearable tech:
“I think the wrist is interesting. I’m wearing this (Nike Fuelband) on my wrist…it’s somewhat natural. But as I said before, I think for something to work here, you first have to convince people it’s so incredible that they want to wear it.”
So we know it’s coming, and we know it’s going to be incredible, which is pretty exciting.
The iWatch is rumored to be out this year. Definitely, probably, this year. We think it will be if not announced, at least hinted at during the WWDC in June, and if not, definitely revealed in the Fall, and released later in the year or early 2015.
The idea is that the iWatch will feature a small number of already established products combined into one, similar to the original iPhone when it came out.
It is said to be standalone with the option to be used in combination with your iPhone. It will most likely include watch, (duh) as well as fitness, health and phone functionality. Siri is a possibility, as is FaceTime capabilities, and maps, if not full iOS 8 functionality.
Fitness and health tech accessories were one of the big new industry product sectors at this year’s CES conference in Vegas. Many believe that it’s where the future of wearable tech lies.
Apple have recently made a bucketload of new roles rumored to be centered on the creation of the iWatch. Some of these are a little vague, others are quite telling. These include:
Sleep analysis experts who hold “several patents for integrating mobile devices with fitness equipment”
Biometric scientists.
Ben Shaffer (previously innovation leader at Nike) and Jay Blahnik, a health and fitness instructor who consulted on the Fuelband for Nike.
Sleep research expert Roy J.E.M Raymann, a scientist from Philips Research last month. Raymann’s experience includes extensive research into non-pharmacological methods of altering sleep quality and in wearable sensors and miniaturization of sensors related to tracking sleep and alertness activity.
Nancy Dougherty was hired as a hardware engineer in late 2013. Previously she worked with technology-based medical products with Proteus Digital Health. Her work there included a health metric-reading wearable patch and ingestible, Bluetooth-connected smart pills for monitoring dosages and scheduling. Most recently, Dougherty worked as a hardware lead for Sano Intelligence, whose tagline reads ‘the API for the bloodstream,’ working on a wearable sensor system.
Apple recently advertised for an Exercise Physiologist to oversee cardiovascular fitness and energy expenditure tests at its main headquarters campus.
The ad read: Design and run user studies related to cardiovascular fitness & energy expenditure, including calories burned, metabolic rate, aerobic fitness level measurement/tracking and other key physiological measurements.
Michael O’Reilly, M.D. was recently added to the Apple team. Previously he was the Chief Medical Officer of pulse oximetry (measuring the amount of oxygen in the blood) for Masimo.
In the fashion line, Former Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve, below, was hired last year to work under Tim Cook on a “special project”, and Angela Ahrendts, CEO of Burberry, joined Apple in a newly created position last year, as a senior vice president and member of their executive team.
Pretty promising stuff, right? So what else do we know?
A supply chain source indicated to Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White in early October that it may also serve to integrate with home automation systems, allowing users to control heating and cooling, lights, and audio/video systems right from their wrists.
The design will come from the delightful brain of one Jony Ive (and his no doubt delightful team).
It is expected to have a 1.5-inch display, it will more than likely have a battery life longer than one day (Hi Galaxy gear!) and no one is brave enough yet to guess at a price.
What about competition? There are already a few smart watches, coming from the likes of Samsung with the Galaxy Gear (1& 2), the Pebble, the Sony smart watch 2 and now Google who has confirmed to the Financial Times after filing a patent that they are indeed manufacturing a smart watch, possibly for release this year.
Apple will be looking to blow them all out of the water, obviously. This means that it has to be innovative in the same way that shocked the world with the original iPhone, and that all the components such as battery life, synchronization with other tech, wearability and functionality will have to be perfect.
So, no pressure, Apple. Also: hurry up, cos we really, really want one.
Are we excited for the iPhone 6? Huh? Huh? Duh! Rumors about the upcoming 9th generation iPhone to be released by Apple are running rampant already, and we couldn’t be more excited.
Here’s a rundown of everything we know about the iPhone 6. And what we think we know. And what we think other people might be potentially correct on what they think. And some things that probably aren’t true but some people think they are. Etc. All photos in this article are not real and are representations of what people believe the iPhone will be, or photos or purported prototypes.
Most people agree that one if not two new iPhones will be released this year, and following Apple’s recent naming system one of them more than likely will be called the iPhone 6. The main hardware difference that most people are solid on is that the new iPhone(s) will be thinner and slimmer, just like your New years resolutions!
Tim Cook has revealed that 2014 is a big year for Apple product releases, and people are optimistically expecting the release of the iWatch, possibly the iTV, and the next iPhone update(s!). These possible new product releases alongside other factors such as the possibility of dual iPhone releases will obviously affect when and exactly how fancily updated the new iPhone(s) will be.
Some people are speculating that the iPhone 6 will be, in fact, the iWatch and the current mobile iPhone will only get a new iOS update.
The more trusted and reliable thought is that the iPhone 6 will be its own separate hardware update, and because of the rumored new product releases set most likely for the Fall, it will be released early this year; think sometime in the 2nd quarter, June, or early Summer. This is certainly a possibility – Apple released the first four generations of iPhone in June, before moving to an September/October launch schedule.
The other line of thought is that the iPhone 6 will follow the more recent iPhone release schedule and released in the Fall, leaving the Apple team plenty of time to make sure everything is perfect.
A lot of analysts believe that Apple will continue with their new 2 phone release model, this time featuring 2 differing size options. The sizing rumors range from 4.5 inches waaaay up to 5.7 inches. There is additional speculation that Apple will minimize or completely eradicate the bezels (the part bordering the screen) on the iPhone 6.
Arguments against the bigger screen sizes are backed up by Apple’s hard stance on one handed mobile use and their reluctance to provide a bigger screen at a loss to function just to compete with other smartphone companies. Tim Cook said this in April of last year:
“My view continues to be that the iPhone 5 has the absolute best display in the industry. We always strive to create the very best display for our customers. Our competitors have made some significant trade-offs in many of these areas in order to ship a larger display, we would not shop a larger-display iPhone while these trade-offs exist.”
Two new hardware components that are rumored to be allowing the iPhone to be thinner, lighter and more durable are Sapphire Glass and Liquidmetal.
Apple has exclusive rights to Liquidmetal, but have done for quite a long time. However, in November, five new Apple patents relating to Liquidmetal were published. Liquidmetal is a very strong and very durable material, which, if used, could make the iPhone 6 stronger and thinner as less material would be needed in comparison to Aluminum. According to some reports, the iPhone 6 could be just 6mm thick compared with the iPhone 5s’s 7.6mm. Below is a purported prototype from Sonnydickson.com
Sapphire glass is the material currently used on the iPhone 5S’s Touch ID Home Button the cover of the iPhone’s rear-facing camera. It’s more than twice as durable than Corning’s Gorilla Glass, and is “extremley scratch resistant. Apple has apparently spent $578 million to enter into a multi-year agreement with manufacturers GT Advanced Technologies to provide sapphire materials from a huge new Apple facility in Arizona.
The iPhone 5s incorporates a 64-bit A7 28-nanometer chip manufactured by Samsung. Apple’s iPhone 6 will reportedly incorporate a 20-nanometer A8 chip from TSMC, which will be both smaller and more energy efficient.
Samsung will continue to be involved in the production, alleviating some of TSMC’s manufacturing workload. The A7 chip marked a 31 percent improvement over the A6 in the iPhone 5, and it is likely that the leap to a 20-nm A8 chip will offer similar increases in performance.
Apple’s next-generation iPhone should, and may support the 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard that first began appearing in Apple products in 2013. 802.11ac, or “Gigabit” Wi-Fi offers speeds up to three times as fast as existing 802.11n wireless networks, reaching speeds over 1 Gigabit per second. It’s though that Apple have been waiting for external technology to catch up before they update their iDevices with the Wi-Fi Technology.
Wireless Charging is something that has been tossed around in the great big salad bowl of rumors, but we don’t think it’s coming- yet. Curved Glass is also a feature many are looking forward to- and would be be beautiful on the iPhone 6, but we wouldn’t be betting the house on it.
According to a reports from The China Post, Apple will not be upgrading the resolution of the rear camera for the iPhone 6 later this year. Citing analysts from Nomura Securities, they indicate that while the iPhone 6 will have some camera improvements like enhanced optical image stabilization, it will continue to use an 8-megapixel sensor rather than a higher-resolution sensor in the 12-16 megapixel range.
Some people think that the Touch ID introduced on the iPhone 5S last year will be removed from future iPhone updates – we think this is pretty categorically not going to happen. What we think will happen is that Apple will, this year, introduce new payment methods using the touch ID.
Apple recently purchased PrimeSense, a firm specializing in the development of three-dimensional sensors for home appliances and mobile devices. This technology is similar to the gesture-detecting sensors of the Xbox’s Kinect controller. This purchase could certainly hint at a move to include gesture control on the next generation of Apple devices, although unlike Samsung, they would want to have it perfected before they release anything with gesture control.
The iPhone 6(s) will run on iOS 8. Yay!
So that’s it – so far. Everyday there are new rumors and people certain they know exactly what the iPhone 6 will be like. In actual fact, there’s very, very few people in the world who knows exactly what it will be like. This guy is one of them.
So if you see him, can you guys ask him for us? Thanks.
There are still more products coming our way right from the magical world of the Apple production line! Next year! That’s like only a few tomorrows away!
A couple of days ago Tim Cook confirmed to members of the press, that Apple is definitely planning on introducing new product categories in 2014. Categories baby! That’s like, things we’ve never seen before. Woop.
According to Cook, Apple believes that it can use its skills building software, hardware, and services to create “great products” in categories that Apple does not participate in today. “We’re pretty confident about that,” said Cook.
Woop!
Things to look forward to (probably) include the iWatch, the iTV and a little baby unicorn that makes all your dreams come true.