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 Observers say there is little evidence for now that the device's
fitness capabilities surpass the competition. Others, hoping for
groundbreaking health features from a company whose Chief Executive
Officer Tim Cook spoke of how sensors are "set to explode," were
left wondering what's in store for the product.
Two people familiar with Apple's plans told Reuters the company is
planning to unveil richer health features and additional sensors in
later versions, the first iteration not hitting the market until
early 2015.
The sources could not be identified because Apple's plans for the
watch are private.
The Apple Watch, unveiled on Thursday, is designed to be used
alongside the iPhone. Independently of a mobile device, the watch
can track activity: it uses an accelerometer to measure your
movement as well as heart rate. Runners can also listen to music
through a bluetooth headphone. Many connected wristbands already on
the market, such as Jawbone's UP or the Fitbit, can do all that and
more.
At this point, it's unclear whether the watch will appeal to the two
consumer groups most in need of health data: Self-professed
"quantified selfers" who regularly track their own body metrics such
as food intake and sleep, and those battling chronic medical
conditions and their care providers.
"I'd need to see data that it's useful before buying the watch or
recommending it to colleagues," said Joshua Landy, a Toronto,
Canada-based critical care specialist and the chief medical officer
for Figure 1, a health startup.
Landy said he would look at patients' data from the watch, but would
be equally interested in data collected in a notebook.
Danielle Levitas, a technology analyst for IDC, described the health
and fitness aspects so far as "table stakes."
"I was expecting there to be some true healthcare applications that
would take it a step further beyond wellness," she said. Levitas
noted that the watch did not track sleep, like Jawbone's UP wrist
band, but said she did not expect this would be a deal breaker for
most consumers. Her primary frustration with the watch was the
decision to offload GPS and Wi-FI to the phone, presumably to keep
the price tag at a modest $349, she said.
Apple declined to comment on future health offerings for its watch.
INTELLIGENT POSITIONING
Apple may have longer-term plans for the watch as it moves into the
nascent but highly fertile field of mobile health. Unlike, say, an
iPhone, a wrist-worn device can pick up on far more body signals,
and in real time.
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Policy experts say that Apple may have deliberately avoided
mentioning medical use-cases for the watch for now to avoid
attracting attention from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In
its current form, the watch would not pose a threat to makers of
mobile medical devices used by patients with chronic conditions.
"Apple probably is very intelligently positioning its products for
use to maintain good health generally, which is a perfectly
appropriate way to avoid FDA regulation," said Bradley Merill
Thompson, a Washington D.C.-based FDA specialist with the law firm
Epstein Becker Green.
"There are thousands of unregulated wellness applications on the
market, so in a way Apple is joining a crowded field."
Health-focused iOS developers say they are already brainstorming new
watch applications. Despite the lack of health advancements, there
is hope the watch will appeal to a mainstream market. Mike Lee,
chief executive officer of MyFitnessPal, said the sensors in the
Apple Watch weren't "revolutionary" but conceded it was
better-designed than most wearable devices.
Lee said Apple may have prioritized making the device sleek, slim
and wearable, rather than packing it to the brim with sensors in its
first iteration.
Nate Gross, a physician and cofounder of Doximity, a mobile and web
service that helps physicians communicate, praised Apple for making
the most of "cheap and consumer-friendly sensors."
Some doctors said they would be more likely to recommend the watch,
once developers build new medical applications.
Mango Health, maker of a mobile application that uses games to solve
complex medical problems, is already considering sending medication
alerts to patients via the watch.
"We'll see dozens of medical use cases over time," said Mango Health
chief executive Jason Oberfest, who works closely with Apple. "This
is just the beginning."
(Editing by Edwin Chan and Bernard Orr)
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