by The rumors popping up over the past few months have increasingly made the so-called “iWatch” sound like the wonder product many of us have been waiting for from Cupertino for years, but a new report from Networkworld (via MobiHealthNews) suggests that it won’t be quite as epic as all that.
Naturally, the information comes from those ever-anonymous sources with “limited but direct knowledge,” reports AppleInsider, and they suggest that, somewhat akin to Samsung’s poorly-received smartwatch, the iWatch will have to depend on an iPhone for the optimal use of its features. The unit will have “simpler” capabilities that many rumors have suggested, the report says, and as for those sensors for tracking glucose and hydration? They allegedly don’t even exist. On the bright side, that means that the device won’t have to be regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Speculative Concept via: Todd Hamilton
That doesn’t mean that the information we’ve been getting is completely wrong; the “Healthbook” application, for instance, seems to be the real deal, although it’ll apparently work by drawing health data from the iWatch, which will then be interpreted with iOS on the iPhone. Most likely, the report says, the application would cover stats related to exercise and stress as well as reminders for taking meds. There’s even a small chance that it’ll provide data that help women get through pregnancy.
For its part, AppleInsider notes that MobiHealthnews doesn’t have an established track record for reliable rumors, but the site did, at least, establish its chops with the first news that Michael O’Reilly, once the chief medical officer for the Masimo Corporation, now works for Apple. And all in all, this new batch of rumors does sound plausible when compared to some of the information we’ve heard before, even if it robs the iWatch of some of its “wow” power.
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