Surprise, surprise: the Apple Watch was inspired by the iPod nano

Apple Watch
Nano meets iPhone

Hours before Apple revealed its first smartwatch, many people were speculating that Cupertino was actually going to name it the iPod, as a sort of rebirth of/tribute to the original music player.

That wasn't the case, but it wasn't entirely off the mark. And it turns out we aren't the only ones who think the Apple Watch looks like an iPod nano either.

A new report by The New York Times quotes a previous Apple designer who says the wearable was indeed inspired by Apple's micro music player.

"The watch, according to a former Apple designer, had its origin with a tiny iPod Nano Touch [the 6th gen iPod nano], introduced in 2010," reads the piece.

Compromise

"The iPod heritage, however, gave way to a more iPhone-style concept. 'And it's very hard to make big things small,' said the former Apple designer, who asked not to be named because he still has business contacts with the company. 'This feels more like it was designed by committee.'"

The source went on to suggest that the watch's short battery life is a symptom of the industrial design team having more control than the hardware designers during the creation process.

Currently, the Apple Watch demands daily charging, however that may change come the device's launch in 2015 - though we wouldn't put money on it.

Hugh Langley

Hugh Langley is the ex-News Editor of TechRadar. He had written for many magazines and websites including Business Insider, The Telegraph, IGN, Gizmodo, Entrepreneur Magazine, WIRED (UK), TrustedReviews, Business Insider Australia, Business Insider India, Business Insider Singapore, Wareable, The Ambient and more.


Hugh is now a correspondent at Business Insider covering Google and Alphabet, and has the unfortunate distinction of accidentally linking the TechRadar homepage to a rival publication.