Apple is believed to have aninteresting pipeline of new productsplanned for the second half of this year, including new Macs, iPhones and its first wearable device. It has been speculated over the past several months that the company is gearing up to launch the so-called “iWatch” in the fall, a smart watch that will double as a health and fitness tracker for managing your heart rate, calories, blood glucose levels and more…
It is known that the Cupertino-based company has gone on a hiring spree over the last one-and-a-half to two years, recruiting some of the top talent within the health and fitness sector. As reported byNetwork World(via9to5Mac), its latest hiring is Alex Hsieh, who served as the lead software engineer at startup Atlas Wearables as recently as last month. Hsieh is now a firmware developer at Apple, according to his LinkedIn profile.
While it is unknown exactly what Hsieh is assigned to work on at Apple, the timing of this hire and his past experience with health and fitness trackers strongly suggests that he is involved with the iWatch. The smart watch is expected to come inmultiple designs with more than 10 sensors, including those forblood glucose and sweat. It could also have acurved OLED screenandwireless charging.
Here is a video of Hsieh discussing the Atlas in February:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ndQmCX8IXM
Apple has alsohired former Nike fitness expert Jay Blahnikto allegedly work on the iWatch, whileenlisting the help of Dr. Michael O’Reillyto help get FDA approval on the smart watch. Apple has eventurned to professional athletes to test the iWatch’s fitness capabilitiesin intense training environments, including Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and Los Angeles Kings right winger Dustin Brown.
