Apple is experimenting with designs for a watch-like device that would include various features of a smartphone, the WSJ reports, citing unnamed people briefed on the project. According to these sources, Apple has discussed such a device with its manufacturing partner Hon Hai (Foxconn), as part of explorations of potentially large product categories beyond the smartphone and tablet.
Foxconn has been working on technologies that could be used in wearable devices, one of these people said. In particular, the company is working to make displays more power-efficient and cooperates with chip manufacturers to strip down their products. The technologies are aimed at multiple Foxconn customers, this sources added.
Apple has been exploring the area for some time, the sources said, and has hired employees with experience in sensors and related technologies in recent years.
New York Times columnist Nick Bilton reports that “In its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., Apple is experimenting with wristwatch-like devices made of curved glass, according to people familiar with the company’s explorations”. Such a watch would operate Apple’s iOS platform, two people said, and aims to stand apart from competition based on Apple’s “understanding of how such glass can curve around the human body”.
