Apple iWatch to Focus on Health and Wellness?

Apple's recent hiring patterns indicate that its upcoming iWatch will have a strong focus on health.

Who have they hired?

The Cupertino based tech giant has hired a slew of sensor experts, with the most recent being Marcelo Lamego, former CTO of non-invasive patient monitoring company Cercacor.

Other notable hires include biosensor algorithm architect Nima Ferdosi and VP of R&D Ravi Narasimhan from Vital Connect. Apple also recently hired Dr. Roy J.E.M. Raymann, a scientist who has contributed a great deal of literature and research to the field of sleep studies, according to 9to5Mac.

However, one of the most important hires happens to be Nancy Dougherty from startup Sano Intelligence, whose research at her previous workplace was based around the development of a patch which allows the wearer to read their blood glucose levels without the need for a blood sample.

In other words, the list of sensor expert hires is long and growing. Companies like C8 Medisensors and Senseonics also lost employees to Apple this year. MobiHealthNews was told that Apple's purported iWatch team has about 200 employees at the moment.

Tim Cook loves the Nike Fuel Band

Apple boss Tim Cook is known to wear the fitness-focused Fuel Band, meaning that he personally approves of wearable technology.

"I think Nike did a really great job with this," he said. "The [wearables] that do more than one thing... aren't great," he added.

He has also said that the "whole wearable tech market is "ripe to get excited about."

And since health and fitness go hand in hand, there is also a possibility that the iWatch could have some fitness-based features as well. Adding weight to that possibility is a recent listing on Apple's employment portal, which says that the company is looking for a "detail & execution oriented, meticulous, highly organised" exercise physiologist to help the company study the physiological effects of exercise on users.

What are they building?

Based on these new hires, reports speculate that Apple's interest in sensors could result in a device that focuses on the ability to measure glucose and other body level information.

By compiling relevant data, users could be served comprehensive reports from time-to-time, giving them information on their health.

Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo was first to raise this theory back in May. It has been backed up by Apple's string of hires over the last few months.

What to expect?

Current rumours point that the iWatch might pack a 1.5 inch display, its own wholesome version of iOS, biometrics and other sensors, along with a battery that would last for up to 4-5 days on a single charge. It might also feature wireless charging.

Apart from this, expect the iWatch to flaunt traditional smartwatch features which include the ability to integrate with a host of iOS devices, displaying caller ID for incoming calls, the ability to place calls and much more.