Apple is planning to unveil its highly-anticipated and much rumored foray into wearable computing—a.k.a. the iWatch—in October, according to online reports. Citing unnamed sources, Re/code's John Paczkowski said that Apple "hopes to schedule a special event [in October] to show off the device."
The device that has become known as the iWatch is one of the most poorly-kept secrets in Apple's history. Wearable on the wrist, the device is believed to focus on health and fitness monitoring, taking advantage of the HealthKit feature Apple unveiled this week for iOS 8.
Japan's Nikkei news service reported something similar on Friday, saying that Apple would unveil a health and fitness-oriented device in October.
In addition to years worth of leaks, major hiring from the medtech industry, and HealthKit, a new system-level feature in iOS 8 that acts as a central repository for health and fitness data—Apple also unveiled a new health and fitness oriented ad this week.
It remains to be seen what form this device will take. Apple CEO Tim Cook has said he thinks the wrist is an interesting area for wearables, and Apple has registered trademarks for "iWatch" around the world. The company has also made heavy investments in sapphire that many think will be used in this product, but none of that guarantees that Apple will use the iWatch name.
It's also unclear whether this device will be a standalone device or an iPhone companion, though recent rumors have focused on the later. In addition, good cases have been made for both approaches.
It looks like we'll have answers to these questions in a few months.