The wait for Apple’s smartwatch may be over soon as signs that the company’s plan to launch a watch become ever more concrete.
The smartwatch will come in several varieties with different display sizes, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. It is expected to be called the iWatch, continuing the company’s naming convention, and go on sale in October.
Regardless of when the smartwatch comes out, Apple will be playing catch up. Competitors Google and Samsung have already introduced products. Apple is also under pressure to prove it can continue its run of hit products under chief executive Tim Cook. It has been four years since it launched the iPad, its last major new product.
Smartwatches already on the market exploit the growing power and slim size of sensors that can detect body temperatures, geographic locations and voice commands.
Apple’s watch will have more than 10 such sensors, including ones that monitor fitness and health, the Journal reported, quoting people who have been informed about the watch. Its aim is to address a criticism of existing smartwatches that they don’t provide functions significantly different from those of a smartphone, a person familiar with Apple’s plans told the Journal .
Big technology companies are betting on a boom in watches and other wearable computerized devices. Global sales of such devices will more than triple this year to more than 19 million units and are projected to reach 111.9 million units by 2018, according to market research firm IDC.
The watches are to be made by Quanta Computer in Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal said. The company is the manufacturer of the Mac Computer and has a long-standing relationship with Apple.