Apple Working With Kobe Bryant And Other Pro Athletes In Testing 'iWatch' For Fitness
June 21, 2014
Apple has enlisted the help of some noted professional athletes to test its long-rumored "iWatch."
Over the past few weeks, the company has invited athletes from the NBA, MLB, and NHL to its Cupertino campus to test the fabled smart watch's fitness capabilities in intense training environments. As reported by 9to5Mac:
Apple is said to be working with Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Kings right winger Dustin Brown, and a few other star athletes, including a player from the Boston Red Sox, on the testing project. The athletes are said to have signed non-disclosure-agreements regarding the existence of the upcoming Apple wearable device.Last month, Bryant was seen on Apple's campus, as pictured above. He reportedly met with Apple design chief Jony Ive to discuss "upcoming products," one of the likeliest of which is the iWatch. Earlier today, it was reported that the iWatch would come equipped with more than 10 sensors including ones to track health and fitness. These sensors are probably the very same ones being tested by the athletes Apple has teamed up with, perhaps under the supervision of Jay Blahnik, the former Nike fitness consultant hired by the company last year. Besides being a health and fitness device, the iWatch is said to be produced as a fashion accessory, designed as it supposedly is by Ive with a multiple-size display reportedly described as slightly rectangular. Retail chief Angela Ahrendts and vice president Paul Deneve, who were hired by Apple from the luxury fashion houses Burberry and Yves Saint Laurent, respectively, are said to be involved in preparing strategies for the device's marketing upon its release. As a number of media outlets have reported, Apple is expected to launch the iWatch as early as October.
