Apple Inc is reportedly prepping a new watch-like device which would run on iOS platform and perform functions of a smartphone.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the company's manufacturing partner, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, is already developing various technologies which could be used in the wearable 'iWatch'. The device is in the pipeline as part of the company's strategy to expand its market beyond smartphones and tablets.
"Foxconn, as Hon Hai is also known, has been working on a spate of technologies that could be used in wearable devices, one of these people said. In particular, the Taiwan-based company has been working to address the challenges of making displays more power-efficient and working with chip manufacturers to strip down their products," WSJ reported.
In a separate report, The New York Times also reported about Apple's experiment of a new wrist watch with curved glass. The report cited 'people familiar with the company's explorations' as saying that the watch could be used to pay mobile bills.
"Such a watch could also be used to make mobile payments, with Apple's Passbook payment software," reported The NewYork Times.
Apple declined to comment on the matter. It is not clear how the watch would look like, but reports also suggested that the iWatch would come with Siri and Apple Maps. The New York Times noted that the rumoured watch will also have Willow Glass - a tough glass that is bendable as paper from the ultra-tough Gorilla Glass manufacture Corning.
Last week, former Apple employee Bruce Tognazzini wrote in a blog post, "The iWatch will fill a gaping hole in the Apple ecosystem. It will facilitate and coordinate not only the activities of all the other computers and devices we use, but a wide array of devices to come."
"Like other breakthrough Apple products, its value will be underestimated at launch, then grow to have a profound impact on our lives and Apple's fortunes."
