“A few weeks ago, Apple executive Eddy Cue boldly claimed that Apple’s 2014 product pipeline was the best he’s seen in 25 years. And for someone that was around for the release of both the iPhone and iPad, that’s quite a lofty statement,” Yoni Heisler reports for Network World.Of course, the product everyone is expecting Apple to release this coming Fall is a wearable device that the media has already dubbed the ‘iWatch.'”
“ust a few days ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that the iWatch ‘will include more than 10 sensors to track and monitor health and fitness data.’ Indeed, it’s well known that Apple over the last 18-24 months has hired a plethora of engineers with expertise in various biometric and biosenor technologies,” Heisler reports. “Most recently, Apple hired Alex Hsieh away from Atlas Wearables. According to LinkedIn, Hsieh was hired as a firmware developer at Apple in June 2014.”
“Hsieh previously spent 8 months as the lead software engineer at Atlas Wearables, a fitness tracker akin to other wearable devices, albeit on steroids,” Heisler reports. “Though not available for sale just yet (it’s still in prototype form), the Atlas device promises to measure a user’s calories burned, heart rate, and distance traveled during a particular workout. The device can purportedly evaluate a user’s form during various exercises while also keeping track of reps and sets performed. This past October, VentureBeat called Atlas the coolest startup from the TechStars Demo day: ‘During a short demo, [Atlas co-founder Peter Li] brought a personal trainer on stage to show that Atlas’ tech can distinguish between multiple activities, including steps, squats, curls, and more. Hell, the thing could even distinguish between a regular pushup and a triangle pushup. You can look at the data after a workout and immediately see what you still need to do. Li also said the data can be used to predict when you’re about to hit a plateau, making your workouts count every time.'”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz” and “Bill” for the heads up.]