Apple's iWatch:New images reveal how secret gadget could look and work

It is one of the most talked about gadgets of the year - despite never having been confirmed by
Apple.

The so-called 'iWatch', which if online rumours are to be believed, is being developed by over 100 engineers at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California, is set to take on Google's Glass eyewear in the wearable computer market.
Although so far all we have seen from Apple is a patent application, MacUser magazine has revealed these fascinating mockups of what the iWatch might look like - and how it would work.

It is one of the most talked about gadgets of the year - despite never having been confirmed by Apple.

The so-called 'iWatch', which if online rumours are to be believed, is being developed by over 100 engineers at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California, is set to take on Google's Glass eyewear in the wearable computer market.

Although so far all we have seen from Apple is a patent application, MacUser magazine has revealed these fascinating mockups of what the iWatch might look like - and how it would work.

HOW THE IWATCH WORKS(MAYBE...)

Siri voice control allows users to dictate messages.
Screen switches on when user flicks their wrist.
Links via bluetooth to iPhone.
Can show tweets, weather and download apps.
Used to control the iPhone - to change tracks or pause video, for instance.

'We worked with 3D artist Martin Hajek to conceive, design and construct a plausible Apple watch,' said Adam Banks, Editor in Chief of MacUser magazine.

'The brief we gave ourselves was that it had to feel like something we could actually imagine buying from an Apple Store.

'We came to the conclusion that Apple’s most likely play would be to keep its watch as conventional as possible, with the feel of something classic rather than excitably innovative.'

This ruled out the ‘slap wrap’ design featured in a recent Apple patent, which harked back to the 1980s toy craze.

'We came back to the classic leather strap, something Apple could make well – like the iPad Smart Cover, for example – but for which third parties could also offer alternatives.

The iWatch will have a leather strap rather than the 'slap wrap' band recently revealed in a patent application, the magazine reveals

The magazine worked with 3D artist Martin Hajek to create the mockups - although admits it has no inside information on what the final product will actually look like

The magazine also believe the watch will look similar to Apple's current iPhone 5 design.

'We based the body of the watch on the iPhone 5, because its jewel-like bevelled finish seemed ideally suited to a device in the form of jewellery,' said Banks.

The team believe a first generation iWatch may not include a webcam, and will rely on an iPhone for its data connection.

It also believes Apple may come up with a clever solution for conserving battery life.

'Apple would surely find a nice solution: it has numerous patents on motion and position sensors, and could come up with a way of guessing when you're going to look at your watch.

'A simpler solution might be to formalise the wrist-twisting gesture that typically accompanies checking the time.'

However, Banks also admits the magazine has no insider knowledge.

'Anyone who tells you they know what Apple is planning doesn’t know Apple’s planning.

'But anyone can guess, and those who know Apple best can guess better.'

Earlier this year it was revealed Apple had patented several technology that could be used in a watch.

U.S. patent application no. 20130044215, filed by Apple in August 2011, specifies the technology for a 'wearable accessory device' with a 'flexible display'.

Figure one of Apple's U.S. Patent Application no. 20130044215: It describes a 'wearable accessory device' which mounts a touchscreen on the user's wrist using the same technology as a slap wrap

It describes: 'A wearable video device ... comprising: a flexible substrate having a flat state and a curled state [and] a flexible display disposed upon a first surface of the flexible substrate.'

The wrist band type device described in the patent application would attach to users' wrists using the same kind of mechanism as a slap wrap toy.

Unexpected: The design, published for the first time today, shows that even without Steve Jobs at the helm, Apple still has the ability to surprise

Popular among youngsters in the late Eighties and early-Nineties, slap wraps are bracelets consisting of layered, flexible stainless steel bi-stable spring bands sealed within a fabric or plastic cover.

The bracelet can be straightened out, causing tension within the springy metal bands, then slapped against a wearer's forearm, causing the bands to spring back into a curve that wraps around the wrist.

As expected by many Apple observers, the iWatch-like device described in the '44215 patent app would be 'configured to display information wirelessly transmitted from a portable electronic device', most likely an iPhone.

As well as the touch-sensitive display, the application says it would include 'a communication link, allowing two-way communication between the slap bracelet and the portable electronic device.'

'Information generated on either device can be displayed on either the host device display or the flexible display,' the application says.

Some of the most interesting innovations described by the application involve the manner in which the device could be powered.

'The battery can take many forms,' it suggests. 'For example, the battery can be distributed in nature by which it is meant that portions of the battery can be placed in disparate locations in the accessory.'

It also describes methods in which the battery life could be extended, including a 'solar panel array spread across a surface of the accessory device', or 'a kinetic power source similar to those found on some wristwatches.'

'An accessory device designed to be worn on a leg or arm could greatly benefit from this sort of power generation, and could lengthen the amount of time between charging,' the application says.