Hasta La Gadget!

There has been plenty of speculation about a possible iWatch from Apple, and we have also reported on how the iWatch is allegedly facing manufacturing issues, facing a fair number of obstacles of its own as well. Well, why not go the whole nine yards by working on a concept of the (as of right now) mythical iWatch? The above is a conceptual render of the iWatch S, and whenever there is an iWatch S, you know for sure that the iWatch C is not too far behind.

This latest bunch of concept renders do make the iWatch look a whole lot like an iPhone, which would not be too far out of place. After all, it is the same company that churns out the iWatch, and we cannot wait to hear an official announcement concerning a smartwatch from Apple. After all, do you think that Apple would release something that might snatch away the spotlight from its bread and butter on the mobile front – the iPhone? So far, some rumors surrounding the iPhone 6 (as it is called at the moment) have already appeared. Do you think that an iWatch would actually be separated into two different categories like the current generation of iPhones?

Apple iWatch S And iWatch C Concepts Spotted original content from Ubergizmo.

For a long, long time now it has been rumored that Apple is working on a smartwatch. So far the company itself hasn’t confirmed any plans of entering the wearable device market, but rumors continue to come in. It was initially expected for the smartwatch to be released in 2013, but the year has passed now and there’s still no indication if Apple intends to release it in 2014. The latest from infamous Taiwanese trade publication Digitimes claims that the iWatch is plagued with manufacturing issues. Yield rates in trial manufacturing are said to be as low as 50 percent.

Citing its usual supply chain sources, the publication claims that production issues are due to the difficulties faced by the manufacturer in “applying surface treatments to their metal injection molded (MIM) chassis.” The MIM process is generally used in mass production of high-precision products that have complex designs as the process allows components to be molded into special shapes without compromising on the strength and rigidity of the product itself. The report also claims that Qualcomm is facing the same manufacturing issue with the MIM process for its smartwatch, the Toq, a product that will only be offered in limited numbers and has already been announced.

Apple iWatch Reportedly Facing Manufacturing Issues original content from Ubergizmo.

Apple is yet to make its entry in the wearable device market, it is expected to do so next year by launching its smartwatch called iWatch. The company has obviously not confirmed anything at this point in time, all we have on the iWatch currently are rumors. There’s another one making the rounds today, this one comes courtesy of David Hsieh, the vice president of Greater China Market at DisplaySearch. He reportedly said at a conference in Taiwan today, citing Apple sources, that the iWatch will come in different display sizes for men and women, 1.7 inches and 1.3 inches respectively.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said last month that the company is going to break into new product categories next year, based on that, quite a lot of people are of the view that the wearable device category is one of them. Another recent report from DisplaySearch claims that Apple has put its iTV plans on hold and that it will focus on wearable devices next year. Rumor has it that LG will be supplying the OLED displays that Apple will use in the iWatch, it is not known for sure whether or not these displays are going to be flexible. The Korea Herald cites sources who say that it is a possibility since Apple might want the iWatch to “upstage” the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch.

iWatch To Have Different Display Sizes For Men And Women [Rumor] original content from Ubergizmo.

If there’s one thing Apple has been criticized for, it would be its iPhone battery life where there are some users who find it ridiculous that Apple still relies on 1,500mAh-sized batteries while the competition is offering twice that amount. The reason for using smaller batteries is so that Apple can make their products thinner, and if the upcoming iWatch is any indication, we expect Apple will try to distinguish the device from the competition (such as the Samsung Galaxy Gear) by making it thinner. If a recent Apple patent is anything to go by, it would certainly seem that way, but in order to balance out the smaller battery, Apple would be turning to Bluetooth 4.0 LE for the connectivity between the phone and watch.

According to the patent which describes an on-demand creation of a Bluetooth connection between devices, “The proximity profile defines a proximity notification alert that the supporting device sends to the device to advertise its shared access service to the network for devices within range. In one embodiment, upon receiving the proximity notification alert the device joins the supporting device’s shared access service and briefly connects to the network to receive push notifications or other messages, before disconnecting.” There’s no telling if this patent applies to the rumored iWatch, but what do you guys think?

Samsung’s Galaxy Gear while a noble effort, has been criticized for its battery as well, especially given that it will most likely last users a day before requiring a recharge. In light of this criticism, we certainly hope that Apple will not be making that mistake as well.

Apple Patent Suggests iWatch With On-Demand Bluetooth 4.0 LE Connectivity For Battery Conservation original content from Ubergizmo.

The USPTO has published an Apple patent application today (via AppleInsider) that could offer a glimpse at how any potential iWatch may work, in terms of gathering data from the web. The patent describes a method for sharing a network connection over Bluetooth 4.0, the low energy specification used in modern iOS devices that can provide intelligent, intermittent context-based pairing.

Apple’s invention would not create a persistent hotspot in the same way that sharing via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi from your iPhone does currently; instead, it would check in periodically, seek out updates from iCloud, grab push notifications, messages, news, weather and other data and then shut down again, returning to a power conserving state.

The low-power aspect is the key ingredient in this mix. Smartwatches that currently exist, including the Galaxy Gear, handle data connections via Bluetooth, too, but Apple’s patent seems designed to introduce as much power savings as is possible, while also taking any management of connection out of the user’s hands, so they don’t need to worry about when it is and isn’t active. It’s worth noting that Apple also acquired low-energy chipmaker Passif back in August, which provides it with more expertise regarding Bluetooth LE communications.

Apple mentions devices that don’t themselves contain any kind of network radio in the patent, which infers, without directly calling out, wearables such as the rumored iWatch we’ve been hearing so much about. Other analyst reports and industry information suggest that an iWatch could also come with its own Wi-Fi or cellular radios on board, however, so this Bluetooth LE hotspot feature is likely just one of many possibilities Apple has worked on in its testing facilities.

Of course, an iWatch is still mostly just a myth at this point, with no solid signs we’ll see one hit production any time soon. But this patent indicates that Apple is at least working on the thorniest problems associated with wearables. Battery life is a primary concern – so far, even the best-in-class smartwatches offer only a theoretical maximum of 7 days without the need for a charge, which is good but not great. The point at which wearable tech becomes generally palatable is the point at which it becomes nearly invisible to a user. Adding one more things people have to remember to plug in nightly isn’t going to set the category aflame.