iTime smartwatch patent appears: Will Apple really do it this year?

[Transcendence]

We’ve been hearing about an Apple smartwatch for at least the last two years, but last year’s rising rumors about an Apple iWatch started the entire rumor mill. Now, a year later, many Apple users are wondering, “Will Apple do it this year? Will Apple finally release an iWatch?â€

We know some things that Apple’s been up to, such as hiring medical researchers, talking with the FDA about medical solutions last December (which many chalk up to the Health and HealthKit apps introduced at WWDC 2014), and implementing health information into its Health and HealthKit apps. We’ve seen iWatch renders show the same apps that’re currently scheduled to arrive in iOS 8. Apple’s even teamed up with Johns Hopkins, The Mayo Clinic, Duke Health, and a number of other top medical centers around the country to make sure that your Health and HealthKit information can be sent to doctors in case you have a medical emergency that warrants a phone call or possible house visit.

And yet, despite all of this, we’ve yet to see Apple make any announcements about an iWatch. If the latest patent from Apple says anything, it’s that Apple may bring an iWatch to market before answering the question.

A 2011 patent filed by Cupertino was approved this week by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), with the patent making the case for an “iTime†smartwatch. The iTime smartwatch involves making and receiving phone calls, not to mention notifications, and includes information about a GPS receiver and transmitter, accelerometer, and a sensor that’d respond to arm or wrist gestures.