9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman is out with a new scoop this evening regarding Apple’s incoming wearable. Citing sources familiar with the project, the well-connected blogger reports that the so-called iWatch will feature support for third-party applications.
In fact, Gurman says that the device will come equipped with an App Store, and apparently a handful of developers have already received a pre-release of the SDK (developer tools). This group includes major social networks, and service companies.
Mark adds that the SDK was issued very recently, under strict NDA, suggesting that Apple wants to show off some of these apps at its event on Tuesday. It would make sense, as third-party app demos are common at major Apple product introductions.
From a hardware standpoint, the iWatch is going to have to be pretty powerful to run apps, something analyst Ming-Chi Kuo hinted at yesterday. On the software side, Apple introduced several new features in iOS 8 that could help: Handoff, Continuity, etc.
Not much is known about the device itself, but recent reports have suggested it will offer a curved OLED display, wireless charging, and an NFC chip to work with Apple’s new mobile payment service. Apple is expected to unveil the iWatch on Tuesday.
Top image iWatch concept via Curved Labs
[9to5Mac]