Apple Secures Patent Filed in 2011 for 'iTime' Smartwatch

Today Apple secured a patent for a smartwatch from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (No. 8,787,006), providing some of the first direct evidence that the company is, in fact, working on a piece of wearable tech for the wrist. Here's the thing, though—the patent filing dates all the way back to 2011, meaning that whatever Apple announces in the coming months (if they do) might not look anything like what we see on the paper.

Indeed, at this point, the concept described seems rather old fashioned. Rather than an integrated device, the filing describes a unit with sensors to be worn on the wrist that can be fitted with various peripherals. That's only found in the details, though. The basic wording is so vague that the patent could likely be interpreted as applying to smartwatches in general.

Some of the language, for instance, reads as follows: "As an electronic wristband to be worn on a wrist of a user, another embodiment of the invention can, for example, include at least a central portion and at least one band portion. The central portion can include a touch screen display, control circuitry and a battery. The touch screen display can be configured to present visual information to the user and to receive user input from the user. The control circuitry can be configured to control operation of the electronic watchband, and the battery can be configured to provide power to the electronic wristband."

And so forth. You can read the entire lengthy document here if you have around 15 minutes to spare. It also describes gesture-based controls in place on the swipes and taps we know so well from iOS, and it already includes information about the health and fitness sensors that have been a staple of iWatch rumors almost from the beginning. And how about that name? The patent filing calls the device "iTime," which seems like a more elegant styling for such a device than the more prosaic "iWatch."

Be sure to check out our roundup of existing iWatch rumors here.

Follow this article's writer, Leif Johnson, on Twitter.