Apple reportedly developing 'smart watch'

SALT LAKE CITY — Independent reports have surfaced this week claiming Apple is working on developing a "smart watch"-like device that the company hopes will give it solid footing in the wearable computing arena.

Apple has made no announcements regarding what would presumably be called the 'iWatch,' and rumors have floated around in the past about the possibility of the tech giant entering the realm of wearable computers. But recent articles by the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times claim the company is actively pursuing the technology.

According to reports, the 'iWatch' would be made of Willow Glass, a bendable glass that has been in development for years but has only recently become available for use.

"You can certainly make it wrap around a cylindrical object and that could be someone's wrist," Pete Bocko, Chief Technology Officer of Corning Glass Technologies, which worked on Willow Glass, told the Times. "Right now, if I tried to make something that looked like a watch, that could be done using this flexible glass."

Analysts and investors tend to agree a smart watch would be a boon to Apple's portfolio, with some saying the move into wearable electronics is "inevitable" for the company.

Apple already has an indirect advantage in the wearable electronics department, as so many companies make wearable accessories that connect to the iPhone. "This makes Apple potentially the biggest player of the wearables market in a sort of invisible way," one analyst said.

Apple will have to compete with Google, though, which is already holding developer workshops to create apps for its wearable glasses. The glasses boast the ability to allow users to find information using a hands-free heads-up display that would project information onto the retina.