More than 200 People Working on iWatch

As Apple’s hires have captured attention, an avalanche of iWatch feature speculation has surfaced. The iPhone maker has hired digital health engineers and scientists, maybe for its rumoured smart watch, but the final product’s technical capabilities may be simpler than the rumour mill claims, a new report emphasizes.

Last year, Bloomberg reported that about 100 designers and engineers were working on Apple’s next product category, the smart watch commonly referred as the iWatch. Since then, a year has passed and the team has grown to 200 people, MobiHealthnews says.

Also, the iWatch will likely be a peripheral device, not a primary one, the same sources indicate, due to power constraints. But that isn’t all: despite earlier rumours pointing to Apple’s recent hires, the company’s main aim is to stick with its philosophy to create simple, easy-to-use and efficacious products. So, instead of following the Samsung way – as Steve Woz pointed out – and stuffing tons of features into the device, Apple will focus on simpler technological capabilities and attempt to provide great user experience.

Furthermore, sources seem skeptical regarding the rumoured Healthbook app and claims about built-in hydration sensors. As it turns out, rumors of the Healthbook app have been overblown – the meeting with the FDA was for an unregulated mobile medical app.

In the end, the report aims to cool down the spirits a bit regarding the forthcoming iWatch and its capabilities. There are a handful of wearables available right now, and “Apple’s opportunity is to make health tracking a mass-market behaviour, not just something that data-obsessed types are interested in”, the source said.