According to reports, Apple recently applied a trademark “iWatch” in Japan after having applied the same trademark in Russian regions. According to one patent official familiar with the situation, Apple submitted the iWatch trademark application on June 3, but Japan Patent Office website chose to release the patent on June 27.
Just days before Apple kicked off its 2013 Worldwide Developers Conference, CEO Tim Cook spoke to Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg at AllThingsD’s D11 Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., where he discussed Apple’s intense interest in wearable technology, calling wearable products that were “ripe for exploration.”
According to Japanese blog Macotakara, which cites two new reports from the Taiwanese newspaper Economic Times, Apple has begun manufacturing displays with RiTdisplay, a subsidiary of Taiwan-based RITEK that focuses solely on touch-sensitive OLED screens, and has even sent orders to its manufacturing partner Foxconn to build roughly 1,000 units of the iWatch, which isn’t enough for mass production, but is likely enough for a small-scale trial to test the durability and quality of the iWatch display.
All above can prove that Apple is likely to convert its conception iWatch into products. Apple used LCDs for its iPhone and iPad displays, while OLEDs would be ideal for an Apple iWatch since the screens are self-emitting (unlike LCDs) and can be made extremely thin and lightweight. Apple CEO Tim Cook called the color saturation on OLED displays “awful,” and the company did hire LG's OLED expert in early February.
Including Samsung, LG, Sony, and Google and other companies have disclosed that they will launch smart wearable devices, which also contains smart watches. Therefore, Apple's move aimed at preventing competitors to launch similar name with the nature of products. But it is uncertain that whether Apple will use the name iWatch for its actual product in the future.