There’s still a fevered excitement whenever Apple unveils a new product – even if said product is just an old product in a different colour.

But the buzz around their first smartwatch – the iWatch -  is a little different, because unlike phones and tablets,  the smartwatch is a product consumers don’t necessarily know they need. Yet.

‘Smartwatches’ have already hit the market – 2013 saw the release of the Samsung Galaxy Gear and the Sony Smartwatch – but in its' perfectly rational quest for tech-based world domination, Apple is gearing up to release something that even appeals to people who don’t consider themselves tech-savvy.

With the news that the iWatch launch has been confirmed for 9 September (the same date as the iPhone 6), we collated the various leaks and rumours to see what we know right now about the Apple iWatch.


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Apple Employees Have (Secretly) Confirmed Its Existence

Apple being Apple, there’s been no official announcement on their development of a smartwatch, and they don’t comment on rumours or speculation.

But in a recent New York Times piece profiling CEO Tim Cook, Apple employees spoke under condition of anonymity about future projects, including the iWatch.

They confirmed it is in development, and it’s going to be out near the end of the year.


The Watch Is Rumoured To Use Apple’s New ‘Health’ Program

At the company’s annual developer’s conference in San Francisco last month, Cook stood up in front of 5,000 people to discuss what he called “the biggest release since the launch of the App Store”.

It turned out to be a red herring; a set of software tools called a developer’s kit, which would help his team build better apps.

One thing the press picked up on, though, was that Apple introduced a program called Health – which helps consumers and doctors monitor heart rates and glucose levels – but no hardware to run the program on, leading many people to speculate that the iWatch will be designed to do just that.


It Will Be Released in September

Reuters reported earlier this year that production of the smartwatch would begin this month in Taiwan, with the commercial launch thought to be planned for October.

However, new information from Re/Code suggests the watch will launch in early September (9th), which makes sense as the iPhone 6 is also rumoured for this date.

According to one of Reuters' sources, the specs on the new Apple device include a display measuring 2.5 inches diagonally and an arched, rectangular face that protrudes slightly.

It will also charge wirelessly, which means over-crowded extension plugs can breathe a sigh of relief.


It Might Have A Lot In Common With Nike’s Fuelband

The dimensions of the iWatch make it sound like it will resemble the fuelband, Nike’s fitness tracker, despite some early concept art pointing to more of an iPod Shuffle-based design.

In fact, the relationship between Nike’s now-defunct wearable tech and Apple’s move into wrist territory might not be coincidental.

Mashable speculated that the two companies were working together on the iWatch, with Nike having designed the Fuelband as an effective way to gauge consumer interest in wearable tech before Apple swept in and released a bigger, better device.

So will it work as a fitness device? Maybe. Apple recently posted a vacancy for an in-house physiologist to work on digital products.


There’s No Clear Indicator Of Price… Yet

Since details are still scarce, looking at existing products on the market can help speculate how much an Apple smartwatch could cost.

Pebble, a lightweight smartwatch currently on the market, retails at £150, as does Sony’s Smartwatch 2, which comes out in September.

Given Apple’s habit of applying a premium price point to their products to maintain their hyper-covetable image, T3 speculate it will cost between £180-220.


Apple Recently Poached A High-Up From TAG Heuer

Wearable tech has, thus far, put the tech aspect front and centre; Fuelband and Google Glass are both more Silicon Valley than Savile Row.

So Apple’s recent hire is interesting. They’ve hired Patrick Pruniax, former vice-president of sales and retail from luxury watch brand TAG Heuer, for an unnamed role.

This could simply be about connecting Apple’s product to a wider retail network, making sure the watch is not just considered as a piece of tech but also as a luxury accessory.

But crucially, for the iWatch to succeed, it needs to have the right style credentials. And this hire could make the iWatch one of the most launches in tech history.


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