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A designer's idea of what an iWatch might look like.
One idea of what an iWatch might look like. Is the technology not ready for the mass market – or are the public not ready for smartwatches? Dogday Design/Anders Kjellberg
One idea of what an iWatch might look like. Is the technology not ready for the mass market – or are the public not ready for smartwatches? Dogday Design/Anders Kjellberg

Apple devotees might have a long wait before they get an iWatch on their wrist

This article is more than 10 years old
Smartwatches have met with a lukewarm reception so has Apple shelved plans for its own Dick Tracy-style wearable device?

For months rumours and reports have indicated that Apple has been in the process of producing a smartwatch of its own. The iWatch, as recent trademark filings name it, was to put information pulled from your smartphone at a glance on a screen on your wrist. However, Apple's entry into the burgeoning smart wearables category failed to materialise. So where is Apple's iWatch?

Samsung launched its own take on the smartwatch with the Galaxy Gear – a wearable device that puts a touchscreen on your wrist and connects to the company's Galaxy Note 3 and Note 10.1 Android devices. Using the touchscreen you can read text messages, get alerts and even answer calls in a Dick Tracy-style, talking directly into the watch. Navigation around the device is achieved by swiping through a simplified pictorial interface on the touchscreen, with bespoke apps available from a special Samsung Gear app store including services such as Pocket, Path and SnapChat.

Qualcomm also launched its own take on the smartwatch with the Toq, which performs similar duties to Samsung's Galaxy Gear. Sony recently updated its own wearable device with the SmartWatch 2, while the Pebble smartwatch, which was successfully crowd-funded last year, showed that there is a market for the intelligent wrist device.

Apple may be biding its time, or its smartwatch may just not be ready for prime-time yet. Given that smartwatches from various other manufacturers have met with a lukewarm reception at best, it has caused some in the media to speculate that the smartwatch technology isn't ready for the mass market.

Current implementations of the smartwatch "form factor" have been hampered by bulky designs and limited use cases, strongly lacking killer functionality to justify the relatively high cost of the devices. Rumours from China suggested Apple's iWatch could have a curved display and tight integration with the iPhone and iPad, as well as some standalone functionality. Apple could release the iWatch at the next Apple device event, rumoured to be within the next month, for a possible refresh of the iPad models.

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