A new report has suggested that Apple’s iWatch is currently being tested by none other than Kobe Byrant, having been selected as one of the high-profile sports stars to try out the device’s health tracking features.
It’s something of a given right now that Apple’s iWatch not only exists, but is being put through its paces by all manner of executives behind the scenes. Unwilling to make the same kinds of mistakes as Samsung with it ill-fated Galaxy Gear, the Cupertino bunch seem to be in no hurry to get their own Smartwatch out into the wild until it has been extensively tested, polished and perfected.
And that’s precisely where Kobe Bryant enters the equation, having apparently been selected by Apple as one of the first ‘real-life’ subject to give the iWatch a thorough going over. An interesting and perhaps curious choice at first mention, but when considering the fact that the device is expected to be a predominantly health and fitness-focused gadget, it actually makes quite a lot of sense.
The story was first broken by the folks at CNET, who reported that a variety of athletes have been approached by Apple to help see what its iWatch can do when really put to the test. As for the LA Lakers superstar, Bryant was apparently seen on the Cupertino campus of Apple having supposedly attended a meeting with design head Jony Ive.
Meanwhile, additional reports continue to speak optimistically about Apple’s chances of making its very first Smartwatch a pretty colossal success story. An article from Reuters recently backed prior projections that up to 50 million iWatch sales could be raked in during the product’s first twelve-months on the market – a far cry from the disastrously low sales of rival wearables already doing the rounds.
In terms of how the Apple Smartwatch will differ from its rivals and make a name for itself, new insights suggest that the device will feature 10 sensors for health tracking and will also ship in a variety of different shapes, sizes and form factors. Analysts remain adamant that one of the biggest mistakes made by Samsung for example was not taking aesthetic appearance seriously enough during development of the Galaxy Gear – a device that was near-universally panned as fatally unattractive and uninspiring.
Initially predicted to be something of a standalone device in its own right, it is now though that Apple’s iWatch will instead have to be paired with either an iPhone or an iPad in order to be fully functional. Running in conjunction with the Health Book app that will come baked into iOS 8 as standard, the device could be the first of its kind to monitor not only health and fitness, but also sleep and rest patterns on a 24/7 basis.
Most likely to make its first appearance around the same time as the iPhone 6 later this fall, price estimates for the iWatch have so far varied from $99 to well over $2,000. However, information to date coupled with general common sense makes it more likely that Apple will be asking around $249 to $299 for its first wearable – a similar price to existing rivals.
As for whether any Smartwatch has or will have true mass-market appeal remains to be seen – things certainly haven’t yet got off the blistering start most analysts were braced for.
