NYT: Apple Is Developing A Curved-Glass Smart Watch

Apple is working on an iWatch, Nick Bilton at the New York Times reports.

The "smart watch," as Bilton calls it, uses curved glass to bend to people's wrists.

It's unclear where Apple is in terms of actual development. Bilton doesn't have a timetable for release, or even a set of features.

He simply reports:

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, who spoke on the condition that they not be named because they are not allowed to publicly discuss unreleased products. Such a watch would operate Apple’s iOS platform, two people said, and stand apart from competitors based on the company’s understanding of how such glass can curve around the human body.

There has been a steady increase in the noise around Apple making an iWatch for the past few months.

While it's nowhere near as exciting as a full-blown Apple television, it's a much easier gadget for Apple to make. Unlike with a TV, Apple doesn't need to get cable companies and content companies on board. It can just make an iWatch.

If Apple does release such a device, we don't expect it to be a blockbuster product like the iPhone or the iPad, at least not in terms of Apple's top or bottom lines.

We would expect it to be an experimental project for Apple. An iWatch would be a watch in the same way that an iPhone is a phone. It would really be a wearable computer. Nike's fitness tracking gadget, the Fuelband, as well as Jawbone's UP, are showing that there is a market for wearable computers.

An iWatch that works with the iPhone could provide the user with more information about their daily activities while at the same time providing a super quick way to check email and text messages.

Down the road, some people believe that "wearable computers" can replace smartphones as the next big thing. An iWatch would be Apple's entry point to see what people want, just like the current Apple TV is an experiment to figure out what people want with a digital TV.