Hot on the heels of releasing a set of renditions depicting what an iPhone 6 with a 4.6-inch screen might look like, 3D artist Martin Hajek is out with a new concept for the iWatch, Apple’s rumored iOS-powered smartwatch that has been reportedly cooking in Jony Ive’s kitchen for quite a time now.
Unlike a bunch of sci-fi renderings and some pretty radical mockups that couldn’t be farther from the real thing (or so we hope, from the bottom of our hearts), Martin’s new renderings featured on the April cover of the MacUser magazine employs a more traditional approach to what an everyman’s app-enabled wristwatch should look like…
Daily Mail first featured Martin’s renderings.
A post over at Martin’s personal blog explains:
By using a more ‘traditional’ approach using for instance a normal leather strap, this concept is closer to reality than many other iWatch concepts.
Add to that a design language which is carried forward from the current iPhone 5′s design to make the concept seem more credible.
Here’s another mockup.
Kinda looks like a drastically shrunken iPad mini, doesn’t it?
It’s for the boardroom, too!
Speaking of traditional iWatch mockups, I personally prefer Nickolay Lamm’s iWatch rendition (see below) inspired by Ikepod‘s Geneve Horizon watches, a known favorite of Apple design guru Jony Ive, who also happens to be friends with the creator.
If Apple is really working on a smartwatch of its own, I bet accessorizing will be one of its heavily advertised features. I’m thinking Apple will be offering the iWatch body in a bunch of colorized anodized aluminum variants, compounded by straps possibly made from different materials like leather, fabric and nylon, to speculate a few.
Needles to say, the iWatch should prove a fertile ground for accessory makers who could release a bunch of iWatch straps of their own. At any rate, such a product would definitely cry for accessorizing. With Apple reportedly planning to offer the colorized iPhone 5S and less-pricey iPhone soon, why not lure would-be iWAtch buyers with some snazzy color choices, too?
Speaking of materials, I think the iWatch might also file as the first mainstream Apple gadget to be made using metallic glass, a fantastic new alloy Apple had exclusively licensed for consumer electronics from Liquidmetal Technologies in August of 2010.
It’s worth remembering that Liquidmetal Technologies CEO Tom Steipp confirmed last year that Apple has been working on commercializing this Terminator-like alloy.
The Swatch Grou also licensed Liquidmetal, using it for the first time in 2009 for its Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean and in 2010 for the Breguet Reveil Musical timepieces, as seen in the above clip.