Following previous reports from both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal regarding Apple’s rumored “iWatch,” Bloomberg has now chimed in with a report of their own, claiming that Apple has a team of about 100 people working on a wristwatch-like device.
Apple Inc. has a team of about 100 product designers working on a wristwatch-like device that may perform some of the tasks now handled by the iPhone and iPad, two people familiar with the company’s plans said.
The team, which has grown in the past year, includes managers, members of the marketing group, and software and hardware engineers who previously worked on the iPhone and iPad, said the people, who asked not to be named because the plans are private. The team’s size suggests Apple is beyond the experimentation phase in its development, said the people.
Bloomberg’s report notes that the size of the team working on the project suggests that the project is “beyond the experimentation phase.” The report also notes that the device “may perform some of the computing tasks now handled by the iPhone and iPad.” While Apple certainly isn’t the first company to enter the connected watch market, the market is still very much in its infancy. Apple could easily create a flourishing market for such devices if they really do release a smart watch – just like they created (re-created) the tablet market when they released the first iPad.
Ex-Apple employee (and founder of Apple’s Human Interface Group) also recently shared some interesting thoughts on a possible “iWatch,” how it would likely work, and what sort of features it might include. Apple has reportedly worked on wearable devices in the past, but so far (obviously) hasn’t actually launched any product of the sort.
It would be fascinating to see what Apple might come up with – and how it might compare against devices like the Pebble. I’ve been fascinated by this idea ever since iPod nano watch bands (such as my iPod nano wristwatch, pictured above) became popular after Steve Jobs referenced them at the September 2010 iPod event!
