The Swiss watchmaker Swatch claims it is not working with Apple to produce the rumored iWatch or any type of smart watch. Claims of an arrangement surfaced on a news site, but Swatch quickly made it clear there is no iWatch business arrangement.
So many rumors and deflated claims have many wondering if the iWatch is even a real project from Apple. One piece of information can be confirmed for sure, though. The company has been working on some type of wearable device, as it had filed a design diagram and patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. That request was recently granted and diagrams have appeared in numerous places on the Internet.
A recent Tech Times article details Apple's plans for an electronic wrist band that communicates with other devices, which has been dubbed "iTime." Many speculate that this will be Apple's introductory smart watch to enter the market by holiday shopping time. Maybe.
It is simply too difficult to predict what Apple's plans are for the wearable market, but one thing is for certain -- it won't include a deal with Swatch. Swatch told the press that the company doesn't deal with mobile phone manufacturers other than to supply integrated curcuits, according to recent reports.
The news site cited an unnamed source in its report who allegedly told the publication that Swatch would be working with Apple on various products and price points in the smart watch domain. However the company's CEO, Nick Hayek, told reporters he wasn't interested in dealing with a tech company to produce a smart watch. Hayek has also said that he doesn't believe in all the hype surrounding the gadgets, either.
A spokeswoman for Swatch told reporters flat out that there was absolutely no deal with Apple. She said that the news source was wrong.
"Swatch Group does not and has not been working with Apple on a smart watch," she reportedly stated in an email.
The rumors about a so-called iWatch have been circulating the web for a couple of years, at least. Will the device even be built? Is it a real thing or just a product of anxious tech geeks' imaginations? Apple has been quiet about its plans for wearables and has not confirmed anything about an "iWatch."
As one report points out, there has been little activity between watchmakers and tech companies in the past but two examples are Suunto and Fossil. Those brands worked with Microsoft's Smart Personal Object Technology (SPOT), sort of the first real effort at a smart watch.
