The Russian trademark filing, made on June 3 through law firm Baker & McKenzie, claims a priority registration date of December 3, 2012 in Jamaica. Apple and other companies frequently file first in Caribbean countries such as Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago where records are not easily searchable online, using those priority dates to help secure protection in other countries at later dates.
According to the filing, Apple has applied for protection on the "iWatch" name in two trademark classes: Class 9, which includes computers and peripherals; and Class 14, which includes various types of jewelry such as watches.
Drawing from Apple patent application for a "slap bracelet" video accessory resembling a smart watch
Izvestia reports that Apple faces a bit of competition for the iWatch name in markets around the world, including in the United States where multiple companies have received trademarks on variations of the term in Class 9. Even in Russia, another company's 2011 application for the iWatch trademark in Class 14 was denied due to similarities to an existing "iSwatch" trademark held by Swiss watchmaker Swatch.
While efforts by Apple to protect the "iWatch" name are suggestive of plans to launch such a product, they are by no means definitive. In the lead-up to the iPad launch, we discovered that Apple had been seeking to secure rights to iSlate trademarks and domain names, only to later discover evidence that it was also protecting the iPad name. Both of those efforts were performed with the use of dummy corporations designed to hide Apple's role in securing the names, but it appears that Apple is not resorting to such measures with the iWatch name.
(Thanks to Anastasia Spilnick of PATENTUS for directing us to the actual filing.)
Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website.
Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50.
We have outlined some examples below:
Device
New Value
Old Value
iPhone 15 Pro Max
Up to $630
U ...
Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app.
Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features.
Notification Summary Changes
Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines.
For...
Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action.
Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
Wednesday January 15, 2025 7:16 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the "ultra-thin" device.
Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Due to its thinness, the device is expected to have some limited specifications compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, only a single speaker, no SIM...
Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by Juli Clover
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
Friday January 17, 2025 5:30 am PST by Joe Rossignol
2025 promises to be quite a big year for Apple, with the company rumored to be planning more than 20 product announcements this year.
Apple's rumored smart home hub will be its second all-new product to launch in as many years, following the Apple Vision Pro headset last year. And of course, we will get several new iPhone and Apple Watch models, like every year. Beyond that, Apple could...
The iPhone 17 lineup will feature a vapor chamber heatsink to improve thermal performance, according to a new report.
The news comes from Chinese tech news site MyDrivers, which claims that the entire iPhone 17 lineup, consisting of the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, will adopt the improved thermal heat spreader.
Vapor chamber technology is already used...
Hmmm to me a watch is more about fashion. I don't really understand why I would want a smart watch when I have a smart phone sitting in my pocket that does the same things better and with a bigger screen. The only benefit would be for working out and it having bluetooth or some type of wireless audio and have storage so I don't have to carry my phone on me. also relaying and tracking heart rate would be handy.
Still probably not worth what I'd have to spend on it I'll just keep using my phone for music when I work out. Its not that heavy. :p
A few years ago people would have said "I don't understand why I would want a smart phone when I have a laptop sitting on my desk that does the same things better and with a bigger screen." ;)
Have to say... I think Apple may pull something out of the hat on Monday. The WWDC invitations seem to me to hint at a watch. Roman numerals, and the first W is cut off and looks to me like it is meant to look like a watch hand.
