Documents at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office show more evidence that Apple (AAPL) might be interested in entering the wearable tech market.
In a recently published patent application titled “Wrist Pedometer Step Detection,” — uncovered by AppleInsider — Apple outlines how it plans on improving a health-monitoring wearable device that would detect a user’s steps through a wrist-worn pedometer.
The patent covers a “smart wrist-mounted pedometer that can automatically determine its location on a user’s body and compensate for missed steps using advanced processing algorithms,” according to AppleInsider.
The Cupertino-Calif.-based company first filed a series of patents related to pedometer accuracy in April 2013. Pedometers for the most part are hip-hugging calculators of footsteps and miles, but lately thanks to devices like Nike’s new FuelBand, these wearables are worn on our wrists.
The Street is looking for the iPhone maker — whose stock is down more than $30, or 5.40 percent, from year-to-date — to introduce new product categories to excite investors again.
Apple shares are down $1.60 in pre-market hours today, trading at $529 and change as of 6:17AM EDT.
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