Apple and Google are secretly working on ‘wearable computers’ which have been tipped as the next wave of innovations.
![]() |
Sure, a fancy wrist watch can qualify as wearable computing, but the two companies have something a little grander in mind.
Down at Google’s X labs, which is where the company throws money tackling concepts and ideas thought to be impossible, Google are working on peripherals that attach to your clothing and automatically feed relevant information to your mobile, sparing you from whipping your phone out every five or so seconds. Sources claim Google has recruited electronic engineers from Nokia Labs, Apple and engineering universities.
There’s also “a very small group of Apple employees” working on wearable devices and how they’ll interact with the company’s viral iPhone, iPod and iPad.
One idea being explored is an iPod made from curved glass. It would wrap around the wrist and recognise Siri voice commands.
Of course, these peripheral innovations still rely on the current day smartphone, which will inevitably play host to a myriad of converging technologies.
“Years ago, researchers envisioned these tiny computers transmitting information to the Internet,” said Yael Maguire, a visiting scientist at MIT and Harvard.
“It wasn’t what we envisioned, but it happened. It’s called the smartphone.”

