Sensor-Packed iWatch with Curved OLED Display Coming in October [u]

Iwatch c concept1

Apple will likely launch the highly anticipated iWatch in October, sources speaking with Japan’s Nikkei have revealed. Although the details of the smartwatch are as yet unknown, what seems to be certain is Apple’s focus on health. And the company’s latest ad suggests we are ready for wearable devices.

During this year’s keynote, Apple unveiled the Health app and HealthKit, a platform that would allow the med-community to develop their own hardware and software for medical applications.

The rumour mill has spilled some information about the forthcoming iWatch, saying that it will look like a traditional watch with a round face, but Nikkei’s sources go further: the device will likely use a curved OLED touch-screen display and pack a handful of sensors – in line with previous rumours – to collect health-related data such as sleep activity, blood oxygen levels, etc.

Apple appears confident of the new product. According to a parts manufacturer, it plans monthly commercial output of about 3-5 million units, which exceeds the total global sales of watch-like devices last year. This confidence is backed by its partnerships with high-profile hospitals — it has teamed up with the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic, U.S. health institutes based in Minnesota and Ohio, respectively, to develop specific ways of analyzing the collected data and applying it to actual health management.

Nikkei’s report comes a day after Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White speculated on the iWatch’s possible release date and projected a September launch, since the smartwatch will likely be a companion device.

Update: Re/code is reporting its sources are saying an October release as well:

People familiar with Apple’s plans tell Code/red the company hopes to schedule a special event that month to show off the device, which is designed to make good use of the HealthKit health and fitness information-gathering app it recently showed off at WWDC. Could things change between now and fall? That’s certainly possible. But right now October is the target date.

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