Report: Apple’s iWatch Will Run iOS

Hot on the heels of Bloomberg’s report that claims that Apple may launch the iWatch as soon as this year, The Verge has also chimed in with more details.

The Verge claims that according to their source, Apple’s smartwatch will run a full version of iOS and the watch project is being led by Jony Ive, Apple’s Design Chief and who also provides leadership and direction for Human Interface software teams across the company.

The Verge reports:

Interestingly, we’re also told that Apple’s chosen to rework the full iOS to run on the watch instead of building up the iPod nano’s proprietary touch operating system - although the previous nano was already watch-sized and seemed like a great starting point for a wrist-sized device, Apple’s betting on iOS across product lines.

The report also points out that Apple’s decision to use iOS is resulting in battery life issues on the iWatch prototypes.

[T]he goal is to last at least 4-5 days between charges, but the current watch prototypes are apparently only going for a couple days max. We’re also told Apple has some work to do with iOS on the iPhone, which currently has several hooks for supporting a watch-like device but lacks the appropriate interface or settings to make it work properly.

So I really hope that the iWatch runs a full version of iOS as opposed to a barebones OS that relies on the smartphone like iPhone for its “smartness” as it would have to depend on the reliability of the connection between the two devices.

I have been using the Pebble smartwatch for the last two weeks, which connects to my iPhone 5 over Bluetooth and based on my brief experience, the reliability of the Bluetooth connection is probably the most annoying thing about it.

Via: The Verge

Leaked Screenshots Reveal Samsung Also Working on a Smartwatch

As rumors of an Apple smartwatch continue to surface, Samsung too appears to be making a product to address the very nascent smartwatch market. Screenshots of an alleged Samsung Galaxy Altius smartwatch were posted on a Korean forum, showing glimpses of the device’s OS and also revealing a few specs.

The screenshots measure 500 x 500 pixels, which could very well be the screen resolution of the watch, and has 235 MB of internal storage. Based on the images, the watch would feature apps for music, mail/messages, a clock and what appears to be a maps icon. These icons are laid out in the form of tiles in a horizontal grid. The device is connected to Korean carrier SKTelecom’s cellular network, and is also on a Wi-Fi network, as seen in the status bar.

It’s not clear if the watch is running Android or one of Samsung’s in-house OS, nor is it known if the device will be positioned as a standalone smartwatch or would rely on a smartphone for its “smartness.” Samsung’s Galaxy brand of smartphones have been pretty successful in the market, and the company could easily piggyback on the popularity of this brand to sell the Altius smartwatch.

While neither Apple nor Samsung have officially made any announcements about their smartwatch efforts, both companies are positioned to fight it out in this space, and it appears that Samsung will be the first one to release a product in the market.

Via: Slashgear, Ruliweb