Swatch CEO Nick Hayek Does Not Believe That The Rumoured iWatch is The Next Tech Wonder

Investors and tech observers are abuzz about the possibilities of a so-called Apple "iWatch," but the CEO of Swatch is skeptical about just how much such a device could replace Apple's iPhone, saying he doesn't believe such a device would be the next smart device revolution.

Speaking at a press conference on annual results in Grenchen, Switzerland, Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek said that the primary difficulty in having a watch replace a smartphone would be display size.

"Personally, I don't believe it's the next revolution," the head of the largest Swiss watchmaker said, according to Bloomberg . "Replacing an iPhone with an interactive terminal on your wrist is difficult. You can't have an immense display."

Hayek also noted that watch consumers often buy the items as jewelry items and often like to change them. Such behavior could represent an obstacle for Apple, as the physical style of any potential iWatch would not likely be readily changeable, though the visual possibilities enabled by a flexible display could mitigate that problem to an extent.

Swatch has had dealings with both Apple and Microsoft, consulting with the former on energy-harvesting technology and with the latter on bringing more interactive features to Swatch's watches. Bloomberg notes that Swatch, like Apple, has licensed Liquidmetal Technologies' alloys for use potential products.

The rumored iWatch is believed to consist of a flexible display that would wrap around a user's wrist, displaying information from the user's iPhone. Apple is said to have a team of about 100 product designers working on the device. [AppleInsider]

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A Watch Made by Apple Will Run iOS and Will See The Light of Day This Year, Sources Say

More details are emerging about Apple's forthcoming watch, which is targeted for release this year, according to a Bloomberg report this morning and corroborated by our sources. Bloomberg says the watch project has long been a favorite of Apple design chief Jony Ive, who reportedly ordered "boxes" of Nike sports watches for his team to study a few years ago.

That's perfectly in line with what we've heard about the watch project, which we're told is being led by Ive himself with some 100 engineers under him. Interestingly, we're also told that Apple's chosen to rework the full iOS to run on the watch instead of building up the iPod nano's proprietary touch operating system — although the previous nano was already watch-sized and seemed like a great starting point for a watch, Apple's betting on iOS across product lines.

                                                    “APPLE'S BETTING ON IOS, BUT BATTERY LIFE IS A CHALLENGE”

That's apparently leading to battery life issues in development, according to our sources: the goal is to last at least 4-5 days between charges, but the current watch prototypes are apparently only going for a couple days max. We're also Apple also has some work to do with iOS on the iPhone, which currently has several hooks for supporting a watch-like device but lacks the appropriate interface or settings to make it work properly. The Pebble watch, for example, can receive notifications from third-party iOS apps with a slight hack, but it has to be redone every time the Bluetooth connection breaks.

                         “INVESTORS ARE STARTING TO LATCH ONTO THE WATCH AS TV RUMORS FADE”

Obviously Apple has time to resolve these issues, just as it had to when it reworked OS X to work on the iPhone instead of building up the iPod's operating system in the late 2000s. And it should be motivated to resolve these problems quickly: financial analysts are already starting to latch onto watch rumors as a growth opportunity for Apple's battered stock price since the fabled TV project looks increasingly unlikely in the current media climate. (That Bloomberg report is headlined "Apple's Planned 'iWatch' Could Be More Profitable Than TV," in case any investors missed the underlying subtlety.) And Google is promising that its high-concept Glass wearable device will be out this year, lending momentum to a market segment that's remained essentially untapped for years but which has flared to life as indie projects like the Pebble, MetaWatch, and others find success with early adopters.

We're actively digging for more info — we'll let you know more as we hear it. [TheVerge]

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