Despite Apple?barely ever even hinting?at a possible smartwatch, the company?s mythical iWatch remains one of the most hotly tipped pieces of gadgetry in the last few years. From faux-deadlines (?Expect it in Q3! Okay, maybe Q4!?) to stabs in the dark about its features (curved screen? an alternative battery source? a sleep monitor? how about all three?), the rumor mill has been churning out conjecture on this unicorn-like device.
The story so far
Although talk about the iWatch has been all over the map, many of the same hunches pop up again and again. For instance, the iWatch moniker has been steadily used as the potential product name, and Apple has been trademarking the label in several countries. (Of course, that could just mean that company is protecting itself in case someone else wants to use that product name.)
And while we?ve heard much speculation on its screen size, none of them have ever exceeded 1.5 inches diagonally. LG has also been mentioned several times as the manufacturer likely to build the display.
At?WWDC 2014?in early June, Apple introduced the latest update to its mobile OS,?iOS 8. With that announcement,??Apple subtly hinted at the iWatch?s inevitable release. Especially when considering the OS? emphasis on?health and fitness apps, and seamless?multi-device collaboration.
But if Apple is going to launch the iWatch any time soon, it will face stiff competition. Several mobile companies have already released or announced their own smart watches, including Sony?s?Smart Watch 2, Samsung?s?Gear Live, and LG?s?G Watch?? with the latter two sporting Google?s OS for wearables,Android Wear.
When will we see it?
Unlike speculation on flagship phones, the Apple iWatch doesn?t have a predecessor we can deduce a time frame from. It?s important to keep in mind that we may never see an iWatch at all, and that Apple may have no interest in developing a smartwatch.
That being said, if it?were?to officially announce such a device, and the fact that the recent WWDC came and went without an iWatch announcement, we could hear about it perhaps during the next iPhone unveiling, which usually happens in either September or October.
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