Apple has yet another new expert on its wearable tech team, this time it's Alex Hsieh from the fitness tech startup Atlas Wearables. The company has been working on a high end and versatile fitness activity tracker, and Mr. Hsieh was the lead software developer for the project.
Mr. Hsieh's LinkedIn profile says he joined Apple in June as a firmware developer. His profile doesn't specifically state he's working on wearable tech for the iPhone and iPad maker, but considering Apple has been on a long hiring spree for people who clearly fit into that space, it's almost assured that's where Mr. Hsieh was assigned, too.
The powerhouse team Apple has been assembling includes health sensor expert Dr. Michael O'Reilly, sleep expert Roy Raymann, non-invasive medical sensor expert Marcelo Lamego, fitness expert Jay Blahnik, high tech fabric design expert Ben Shaffer, FDA approval process expert Divya Nag, and more.
Apple's hirings hint at a late 2014 product launch, although so far the company hasn't offered up any hints as to its plans other than Tim Cook saying he's intensely interested in our wrists.
While other companies are focusing on using our wrists as just display extensions for our smartphones, Apple seems to be looking at the space as a place to log detailed information about our health and fitness activities -- but on a level beyond the current slate of products such as Fitbit, Nike FuelBand and Jawbone Up. Once Apple does finally release its rumored wearable device, get ready for some serious market disruption.
[Thanks to Network World for the heads up]