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wearable tech

Samsung Confirms Smartwatch

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SamsungSmartWatch
Samsung Smart watch Pantent Drawing ( Source: Korean Intellectual Property Office)

Samsung confirmed that it will be getting into the wearable technology game when Samsung’s executive vice president of mobile business, Lee Younghee, had an exclusive interview with The Korea Times and discussed a few details about the upcoming smartwatch. Lee said that the concept name for the device is called Galaxy Gear.

smart watch

According to Lee, the purpose of Galaxy Gear will be to enhance their current mobile experience and that  “Gear will add meaningful momentum to the mobile industry”.  In response to questions about a possible flexible display Lee mentions that it will not be flexible but that Samsung does hold various patents for a flexible display which would most definitely be using in future products.

There has been no shortage of speculation surrounding the possibility of an Apple iWatch to come in the near future and Samsung seems to be trying to beat them to the market. Apple has hired some notable people from the fashion industry which hints towards their intentions to get into wearable tech as well. Many people expected Apple to discuss it’s plans for an iWatch product earlier this year at the 2013 WWDC, but it seems that we may have our best chance to hear something this fall.

 

Video: D11 Interview of Tim Cook

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Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down with Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg of AllThingsD yesterday and you can now watch the entire interview here on the embedded video below.

Apple CEO Tim Cook
Apple CEO Tim Cook (Source:Apple)

Tim Cook discussed quite a few topics during the interview but a few stand out from the rest. One of the more notable moments in the interview was when Tim Cook mentioned that there’s a possibility that iOS could offer a richer API toolset for developers. Apple has received a lot of criticism of being too locked down and developers have long wanted to get deeper access to iOS, which soon could be a reality. Cook did mention that although 3rd parties may gain more access into iOS, they would not do it in such a way that compromises the customer experience.

Of course no major announcements were made, not that we we’re expecting any, but Cook did seem to hint at a few things to come. One of those things is Apple TV, not the little content streaming box but an actual Apple Television. Cook mentioned that it’s an area that needed to be brought up-to-the-times as television hasn’t changed much over the years. Perhaps, Apple could do with TV what it did for the smart phone industry. Here is a quote from Tim Cook on the question about an Apple TV.

 I don’t want to go into detail, but it continues to be an area of great interest for us. The product and relationships we’ve built provide a lot more knowledge than we would have otherwise. And popularity has been larger than we thought, and we aren’t marketing it.” – Apple CEO Tim Cook

During the interview they touched on other subjects like wearable tech, Android, and they even went into taxes, which Apple has recently been under the microscope for, mainly in how it manages it’s finances over seas and how that tax money makes it back, or doesn’t, to the US. Cook does mention that it’s not a situation unique to Apple and it is an area that needs reform.

Thanks to MacRumors for the video link.