iWatch and several new iPhones anticipated
In-between the major launches by companies
like Apple and Samsung that get us excited so much, there are various
established ways of getting a sense of what may be coming as far as new
products and software are concerned in the next few months and years.
You may look to the rumours pages, for
example, where there will invariably be references to oblique "sources
familiar with the situation", suggesting that the next iPhone, iPad or
other Apple product will have "this" feature or "that"
feature. There may also be mentions on these websites of supply chain leaks, or
someone on an Internet forum may have come up with all manner of outlandish ideas
of features that the next iPhone is "sure" to have.
The
iWatch will have a 2.5-inch rectangular screen, and it will be out in October.
Some of these sources of the latest 'news'
will, of course, simply be emitting a lot of nothingness. Others may be much
more on target, but if there's anything that indicates that something is
definitely "up" at a given technology company, it is surely
significantly increased research and development (R&D) spending. Sure
enough, that's exactly what turned up in Apple's second quarter results filing.
The significance of the latest Apple figures
To be more specific, the quarter saw 36 per
cent greater R&D expenditure than the previous year. The $1.6bn spent in
this area by the Cupertino giant in the three months to June accounted for 4
per cent of sales, which as BTIG Research analyst Walt Piecyk has observed, is
the highest ratio since 2006, when Apple was readying the first iPhone.
That might be a strong indication on its
own that Apple is up to something, but when teamed with certain other
longstanding chatter, it suggests that we're in for something very big indeed.
It's well-documented that the Californian firm hasn't debuted a true new
product since 2010's iPad, having offered mere incremental updates of existing
favourites for the first few years after one-time CEO Steve Jobs' death.
A
new report from Korean source Naver has reaffirmed that LG will be the sole
supplier of the flexible display panels required for the rumored Apple iWatch.
But since as long ago as late 2012, we've
been hearing talk about an 'iWatch', Apple's long-awaited entry into the
emerging mobile tech wearables market. Sources mentioned by the Financial Times
and others suggest that Apple's big new release this year is indeed a wearable
device with fitness tracking and tethered smartphone remote control
capabilities.
Other pointers to a new Apple product
There's lots more evidence that, far from
another false dawn, this autumn really is the time when Apple's next
blockbuster product will break cover. Just look back to current CEO Tim Cook's
repeated confirmations that the firm is set to enter new product categories, or
even the enthusiastic proclamation by Apple's Internet Software and Services
chief Eddy Cue of 2014 featuring "the best product pipeline that I've seen
in my 25 years at Apple." Alternatively, consider the fact that Apple's
highest-profile recruits in recent times include many medical and wearables
experts, from the one-time TAG Heuer sales director Patrick Pruniaux to erstwhile
Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve. The by now well-publicized presence in iOS
8 of a new dedicated Health app also corresponds neatly with the iWatch's
rumoured health-related functionalities, with the device said to use 10 different
sensors to gather health and fitness information that is then displayed in the
app.
But will the new device even be known as
the '¡Watch' when it finally sees the light of day? Sources have said that
despite Apple filing to trademark the term last year, it's actually an unlikely
moniker for the new wearable, with 'iTime' surely another possibility given
that this was the name given to an "electronic waistband" for which
the Cupertino firm has just been granted a patent.
In
addition to featuring a flexible display, the iWatch is also expected to sport
a wide array of sensors to track pulse rate and several other health related
parameters.
Innovation: Apple's greatest asset
But what if we stop to ask ourselves...
what is it about Apple that even has us so glued to those aforementioned rumour
pages, all year round, but especially in the run-up to its traditional new
iPhone announcement each year? There are many things that we could cite, but
above all else, it has to be innovation - as demonstrated by a run of
game-changing iDevices released under the auspices of the mercurial Jobs.
Whether his successor can continue that run
has been the subject of much talk - particularly among investors, who Cook
moved to reassure in February with his declaration that Apple was working on
"really great stuff" and remained a "growth company", not
merely one looking to maintain its footing in its established phone, tablet and
computer product categories.
