Originally posted on Medium in 2014 ⁠ ⁠With the release of Android Wear this week I got to really thinking about wearable tech. I decided to act out a few scenes using an old watch, one I haven’t worn in almost 8 years, and my imagination. A few things leapt out at me.

• 1. The size of the watch face is going to have be fairly large. This is for two reasons; one, for the touch interaction to feel natural and two, so that people can read the text and interpret information on the screen. I am assuming most people will hold their watch at a similar distance as their phone.
• 2. It better be light-weight and thin. For people to truly live a “smart watch” life it will have to work within their current lifestyle and not cause too much friction. It will have to be lightweight so someone feels as if it almost doesn’t exist. It will have to be thin so it can be worn with any type of shirt or jacket.

The more I acted out scenarios, the more I felt like the “smart watch” is, and might only ever be, a companion device for your phone. If that is true then it would only ever be used for lightweight information presentation. This seems to be the same approach that Google has taken. But let’s face it… We already have a device that could tell us exactly the same information in almost the same amount of time. Your wrist happens to be almost the same distance as your pocket. The only thing you might be buying (at least at this time) is convenience.

I started to think about how could wearable tech truly help the world. This is the only space Apple will play in. They want to leave a “dent” in the universe.

I pieced together some rumor, some facts and my own beliefs to develop a vision for wearables that Apple might take.

First, a fact, Apple hired the former CEO of Burberry, Angela Ahrendts, to head Apple retail. Under her management Burberry was reinvented and became a very technologically forward brand, especially for high-end luxury fashion. During her tenure at Burberry she helped launch a line of fine watches.

After the announcement of her hire was public there was much discussed about her connection to the Burberry watch line. I am not buying it. I think they wanted her solely for her experience running a fashion brand.

Next, a leak that seems real, the HealthBook app screen shots. If the HealthBook is real, and I believe it is, and the types of information that have been illustrated are going to be tracked then Apple must have something crazy up their sleeve. I don’t doubt that because Apple seems to be hiring a ton of medical doctors, sleep experts, motivational speakers, health professionals, and people who work in health technology.

Finally, Tim Cook has mentioned Apple will only build products that it believes will change industries and they can leave a mark. To me the Android Wear “smart watch” is kinda like “smart phone” on your wrist. I don’t believe that is Apple’s game with the “smart watch” is to just build a companion device for your phone.

What I do believe is that Apple intends to disrupt healthcare. They intend to make personal health a major part of the Apple value proposition. When you buy an Apple wearable it isn’t so you can just check a text, or get directions — it is so you can make sure you are in good health.

My belief is that this might start out as one product (maybe a watch) but will quickly move to include many more products both by Apple and others by allowing access to APIs.

EarPods will monitor your heart rate while running. A ring will sense blood pressure and blood oxygen level. A wrist device will monitor your movement and act as a companion device.

Combine this with iPhone software that keeps track of the information and now you have the possibility of your own mobile health record database.

Apple will then open up the APIs to allow others to connect to HealthBook and now your have developers creating applications, medical device manufacturers having Made For iPhone approved appliances, Bluetooth connected workout devices, and healthcare insurance companies giving discounts based on all of the data.

Imagine diabetics checking their levels and it automatically syncing to their phone. This might already exist in some fashion but with the Apple touch could be smoother.

Doctors could readily see performance measurements during workouts and check for trends during normal wear.

And you? Well you can see trends between activity and weight loss, running distance and heart rate, and more.

To get people to wear these devices they will need to look great — enter Jony Ives. The devices will need to be displayed in a way that makes them more than just technology but as fashion- enter Angela Ahrendts.

Apple’s wearable approach might include getting texts on a wrist but they don’t intend on stopping there. They are about to unleash an entire health monitoring ecosystem that includes beautiful, fashionable hardware and easy-to-use, “just-works” software.

The power of wearables isn’t the ability to present information from your phone. The power is to present information about yourself.

We are moving from “quantified self” to “understood self” and Apple is going to make sure it’s products change the way we live.