Recent events in the world of Apple continue to suggest that they are feverishly working on this new iWatch product.  In their well-known environment of development secrecy, there is little to work off of in estimating exactly what is going on however.  As we retrace some of the history, we have seen the discovery of a number of patents, a number of reported trademark applications around the world, and a whole lot of speculation.   A recent report from Financial Times talked about the vigorous pace of hiring for an Apple “special project” that very well could be the iWatch.  It further goes on to say that their sources have information to suggest that the hiring rush is to take on the fact that they are facing some tough engineering problems.  There’s been a lot of investment pressure on Apple to come out with a new product.  Their stock soared as the company became the most valued public company in history, and investors have fled in the void of any new product releases in many months.  Some have said the Apple of old is gone.

Now we all know the levels of design and functional scrutiny that Apple is famous for – that much is a given.  These delays are now projected to put the release of the iWatch device out to sometime next year.  To indulge in a little speculation myself,  it would appear that when you take in the form factor and the type of functionality that the device will be expected to deliver, that the biggest technical challenge that may be holding this project up is the battery that powers the device.  The technical demands for such a device would have way more demand than any watch battery today can provide.  Remember this is a watch, which means the display will probably always be on.  Compare that to your smart phone that whether you know it or not has a sleep mode where the screen is off and other power-efficient schemes that turns certain components off.   It’s too bad we can’t invent, then miniaturize a flux capacitor for this thing.  Anyway that’s my theory on the challenges of how to make the iWatch always be a watch, yet still have that smartphone functionality and the biggest logical holdup is power.   But perhaps an answer is closer than we think.

Back in February, ZDNet uncovered a US patent No. 8,368,654 from the US Patents and Trademark office that covers “Integrated touch sensor and solar panel configurations”.  This introduces optical sensing capabilities to the screen as a means to interact with it and to boost its energy generating capacity.  Pretty interesting stuff that could be applied to a watch-type product to boost its power capabilities – or it could be applied to any of their future smartphone platforms.

Wearable technologies have been getting a lot of media attention.  From Google Glass, to the Pebble smart watch, to the Nike watch, the list is growing every day.  Google’s Motorola Mobility has also made a very public statement that they are ‘profoundly interested in wearables’ – and they also recently announced that they are hiring a Director for Wearable Technology.  Wearable technology in all forms ties into the theme of Internet of Things – everything’s getting connected, and once this puzzle is solved by Apple and they land with a product, the arrival will be official.   In the meantime, rest assured that many are throwing research, technology, and people at this next wave of technology.  Today’s story about Bob Mansfeld has even sparked the theory that he has gone dark in order to work on the iWatch.  In the end, the speculation and amount of material those of us who write about this is unending, there will be much to watch for some time to come.  So for those that think that we have reached a peak with bigger, faster smartphones – the next big thing is here and will only be getting bigger.