Apple Watch (Photo : Apple)
Next on the launch pad behind a larger iPad and the Apple Watch are two new Apple goodies: an Apple health tech service and an Apple search engine.
The health tech service is almost ready for prime time while the search engine seems to be a rumor in search of believers.
What we know is Apple's HealthKit service is up and running. Apple's HealthKit acts as a repository for patient-generated health information like heart rate and blood pressure, among others.
It's rolling out to an increasing number of U.S. hospitals with 14 of the top 23 hospitals using the service's pilot program. It was reported at least eight of the 17 hospitals on a list ranking the best hospitals in the U.S. News & World Report's Honor Roll were using HealthKit, Reuters reported.
HealthKit gathers data from food and exercise-tracking apps, Wi-Fi connected and glucose measurement tools. Apple Watch will add to the range of data used by HealthKit. This data can be sent to an electronic medical record for doctors to view with the patient's consent.
Apple's HealthKit and similar services from rivals Google and Samsung Electronics will allow doctors to watch for early signs of health problems and intervene before these problems worsen.
The U.S. healthcare market is worth $3 trillion. IDC Health Insights expects 70 percent of healthcare organizations around the world will invest in this kind of medical technology by 2018.
And we come again to news Apple is developing its own search engine to counter market leader, Google, that's got 75 percent of the pie in the U.S.
Despite the renewed rumors, pundits believe there's no way Apple will tangle with Google over search.
Fueling the latest round of "Apple-is-developing-a-search-engine rumor" is an Apple job posting looking to hire a project manager to work on a search platform supporting hundreds of millions of users and play a part in revolutionizing how people use their computers and mobile devices.
Instead of confronting Google, Apple Search could be used exclusively for Apple devices and services like Siri and Safari. Endgadget believes an Apple Search app will marginalize Google's hold on iOS users and convert them to Safari. That makes more sense.
There have been a spate of leaks claiming to show the look of the upcoming iPad, apparently from third parties making the iPad's case.
Images posted by Nowhereelse.fr show the "iPad Pro" having dual-stereo speakers at the bottom of the slate and the usual Lightning port. Placements of the other buttons are similar to the current iPad Air 2.
Speculation is the new iPad might go by called either the iPad Pro or iPad Air Plus. The latter name has been cited by some tech pundits as the better choice.
What's certain is Apple has been developing a larger screen iPad for past two years. The display could come in at 12.2 inches or 12.9 inches compared to the iPad Air 2's 9.7 inches.
Apple Watch will be available this spring at US$349. It comes in an aluminum shell but Apple will offer a stainless steel option with leather or metal bands. There will also be a special 'Apple Watch Edition', an 18-karat gold option that could carry a US$10,000 price tag.
