Apple has filed for ownership of the ‘iWatch’ trademark in Russia, amid rumoured that the firm is developing a smartwatch device, according to a news report.
Russian news site Izvestia reports that Apple has filed for the ‘iWatch’ trademark in the country. iWatch is rumoured to be the name of an upcoming wearable device from Apple.
The report states that the application was filed in the two classes of the International Classification of Goods and Services.
There have been numerous rumors of a purported watch from Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), but the company has yet to confirm anything. The rumored iWatch would be a technically advanced gadget that would work in conjunction with the iPhone.
According to a report, last week in the New York Times, Apple is rumoured to have 100 member-strong team working on ‘iWatch’.
The Wall Street Journal has also published reports about the possibility of an Apple smartwatch.
Bloomberg also claims that Apple has “100 product designers working on a wristwatch-like device that may perform some of the tasks now handled by the iPhone and iPad”.
According to the source, the team working on the device includes members of the company’s iPhone and iPad software and hardware team, as well as staff dedicated to marketing the device.
If true, such a large and multi-tiered team would indicate that, contrary to previous reports, Apple has likely exited the experimental phase of working on the device and could be prepping for an upcoming product launch.
Samsung rival?
Meanwhile, rival Samsung has already confirmed a Galaxy Smart Watch product is ‘definitely’ on its way, according to news report.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Lee Young Hee, executive vice president of Samsung’s mobile business, said: “We’ve been preparing the watch product for so long. We are working very hard to get ready for it. We are preparing products for the future, and the watch is definitely one of them.”
Lee did not give any details or information on when the Samsung smart watch would go on sale or what its price would be. Nor did he give any indication of what features it will offer.
Read the full report on Apple’s patent (in Russian) here
