Apple boss Tim Cook hints at new medical wearable

Apple boss Tim Cook has hinted that his company could be working on another wearable device to be sold alongside the Watch, but with an emphasis on medical research. Such a device would require approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US, a lengthy process that Apple does not want to subject the Watch to.

While the Watch can currently perform some basic health and fitness monitoring tasks, such as recording movement and heart rate, it cannot act as a true medical device. Approval by the FDA in the US would be a protracted procedure, and would need to be replicated in every country Apple intends to sell the device in.

"We don't want to put the Watch through the FDA process. I wouldn't mind putting something adjacent to the Watch through it, but not the Watch, because it would hold us back from innovating too much − the cycles are too long," Cook told The Telegraph. But you can begin to envision other things that might be adjacent to it − maybe an app, maybe something else."

If Apple decides to enter the medical space, it would likely do so with a simpler wearable, closer in appearance to a fitness band than a fully-fledged smartwatch. Due to the time needed to get medical approval worldwide, it is likely that the device would be updated annually, as is tradition with most of Apple's product line.

Speaking during a rare trip to the UK and Apple's Covent Garden store in London, Cook spoke about the iPad Pro, a large tablet that opens for pre-order on 11 November. With a 12.9in screen, much larger than the 9.7in iPad Air 2, the Pro is intended to be a laptop replacement.

"The iPad Pro is a replacement for a notebook or a desktop for many, many people," Cook said. "They will start using it and conclude they no longer need to use anything else, other than their phones...[and, as another use] if you sketch, then it's unbelievable...you don't want to use a [paper] pad anymore."