MacRumors

ios7cameraLast week, we noted that Apple has registered several new ".guru" domains, part of an initial batch of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) being launched over the coming weeks and months.

That rollout is continuing this week, and Apple has wasted no time securing a number of additional domains in the new .camera and .photography families. Among the new domains registered by Apple:

- aperture.camera and aperture.photography
- apple.camera and apple.photography
- facetime.camera and facetime.photography
- imovie.camera and imovie.photography
- iphoto.camera and iphoto.photography
- isight.camera and isight.photography
- photobooth.camera and photobooth.photography
- retina.camera and retina.photography

Other new gTLDs opening for registration this week include .equipment, .estate, .gallery, .graphics, and .lighting. While Apple has apparently placed blocks to prevent registration of its own trademarks under these new gTLDs, such as apple.estate and macbook.lighting, the company so far appears to have only pursued active registrations in the .camera and .photography families.

As with the new .guru domains registered by Apple last week, the company's new .camera and .photography domains are not yet active, and it is unclear whether Apple has plans to actively use them in the future.

Apple is looking to hire an Exercise Physiologist to oversee cardiovascular fitness and energy expenditure tests at its main headquarters campus. The new position was posted to the company's job board today (via 9to5Mac).

Design and run user studies related to cardiovascular fitness & energy expenditure, including calories burned, metabolic rate, aerobic fitness level measurement/tracking and other key physiological measurements.

Candidate will be knowledgeable about the physiological effects being measured and how to avoid potential inaccuracy and experimental error due DOE flaws and/or reference monitor (i.e. metabolic cart, etc.) usage issues.

The role will need to apply relevant knowledge to the design of products and their testing/validation through user studies.

iwatch-concept-nike

iWatch concept by Todd Hamilton

The requirements of this position suggest the employee will be working on Apple's rumored fitness-focused wearable. The company has been making a strong push into the medical and fitness field with recent hires like sleep expert Roy J.E.M Raymann from Philips Research and Michael O'Reilly, M.D., former Chief Medical Officer of pulse oximetry company Masimo.

This elite team of medical researchers is presumably designing Apple's iWatch along with fashion experts like Former Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve, who was hired last year to work under Tim Cook on a "special project". Apple's fitness band may connect to the iPhone via Healthbook, a fitness app expected to be released alongside iOS 8.

Update: Apple has removed the job listing from its site.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)

Imagination Technologies today announced that it has extended its licensing agreement with Apple. The financial terms of the deal were not revealed, but Imagination confirmed the deal signed was a multi-year, multi-use agreement that provides Apple with access to the company's PowerVR graphics and video hardware.

Imagination Technologies Group plc (LSE: IMG, "Imagination") announces that Apple has extended its multi-year, multi-use license agreement, which gives Apple access to Imagination's wide range of current and future PowerVR graphics and video IP cores.

Under the terms of the above licensing arrangement, Imagination will receive on-going license fees, and royalty revenues on shipment of SoCs (Systems on Chip) incorporating Imagination's IP.

PowerVR-Series6XT-GPU
Imagination also recently announced its Series6XT PowerVR GPUs, which will replace the current Series6 graphics used in Apple's A7 chipset. In detail, the company claims that its newer GPU chips will deliver a 50% benchmark performance increase when compared to similar configurations of previous generation cores. The technology is expected to debut in devices sometime in 2015.

Apple has used Imagination's PowerVR graphics architecture in all of its iPhone models to this point, and is a major investor in the company with a 10% ownership stake.

Related Forum: iPhone

Apple has confirmed on its website that it will be opening its first retail store in Brazil on Saturday, February 15. The store will be located in Rio de Janeiro's famous Barra da Tijuca borough, located at the VillageMall luxury shopping center.

applestore_brazil_invite
The news follows a report from last October stating that Apple was planning to open its first store in the South American country between February and March 2014, giving the location a few months to be up and running before the start of the FIFA World Cup being held in Rio during the months of June and July.

The prior report also stated that Apple would be seeking some of its U.S. Apple retail employees to temporarily relocate to Brazil to educate local employees about Apple retail procedures and act as in-store workers. However, it is unclear as to whether Apple actually followed through on the initiative or not. Apple's difficulty in recruiting employees for its Brazilian store was reportedly one of the reasons as to why the company could not open the store in July as originally intended.

Apple began hiring for its first Brazilian retail stores in November 2012, and has been working with Foxconn to move some iPhone and iPad production to the country to avoid hefty import taxes and allow Apple to expand its market share. Last October, a regulatory agency also granted Apple the authorization needed to sell the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in Brazil, as both phones launched in the country shortly thereafter. It was also reported earlier this week that the company will restart iPhone 4 production in order to sell the device in Brazil, India, and Indonesia.

Thanks, Cássio!

Following the release of Final Fantasy IV: The After Years last November, Square-Enix today launched Final Fantasy VI for iOS devices. The game's story centers around rebels Terra and Locke as they battle an evil force known as The Empire, with gameplay centering around the series' fast-paced "Active Time Battle" system. Recreated graphics and a touch-optimized battle interface are also present in the release as well, as the game also supports iCloud data syncing across devices.

ff_vi_ios1

Features
• Game data saved with iCloud can now be shared across devices! At home or away, on your iPhone or iPad, pick the play style that's best for you.

• All graphics have been painstakingly recreated, bringing the world of FINAL FANTASY VI to your mobile device for the very first time! Kazuko Shibuya, one of the graphics designers involved in the FINAL FANTASY series from the very start, personally worked on the main characters and supervised the recreation of the game's graphics.

• Square Enix's vast experience in A-list smartphone RPG titles has been harnessed in implementing intuitive user-friendly controls that make the game easy to play on touch screens. The battle interface has received particular attention, with a complete overhaul for use on your smartphone.

• This smartphone release includes the new magicites and events that were introduced in the 2006 remake.

• Some events have been optimized to be played with user-friendly touch controls.


Final Fantasy VI was originally revealed to be coming to iOS devices last October in an interview with longtime Square-Enix producer Takashi Tokita, who also teased a potential release of the mega-popular Final Fantasy VII for mobile devices. However, the producer later clarified his comments about a potential Final Fantasy VII mobile release five days later, stating that the game's appearance on iOS devices is "years away" because of the space limitations on the platform.

Final Fantasy VI is available on iOS devices for $15.99 and can be downloaded through the App Store. [Direct Link]

blockchainBlockchain, a wallet app that allows users to send and receive the digital currency Bitcoin, has been removed from the App Store, according to Bloomberg.

Blockchain.info, the developer of the software, received an e-mail from Apple saying that the app was withdrawn "due to an unresolved issue," Nicolas Cary, chief executive officer of the London-based company, said.

Cary told Bloomberg that he didn't understand the timing of the removal of the app, as it has been in the App Store for two years.

Late last year, Apple removed Bitcoin buying and trading platform Coinbase from the App Store and, more recently, Apple required the developers behind Gliph, a secure messaging platform that allowed Bitcoin transfers, to remove the transfer feature in order to keep its app on the App Store.

Blockchain's removal is another chapter in Apple's tumultuous relationship with Bitcoin apps. The company has told developers behind Bitcoin-related apps that they may not include content that "enables, facilitates or encourages an activity" that some countries deem illegal. App Store Review Guidelines require that apps be legal in all locations in which the app is available.

Apple has added a new video to its iPhone 5s marketing page showcasing footage shot at Burberry's Spring/Summer 2014 runway show back in September.

The thirty-second spot shows how the then-unreleased iPhone 5s was used to shoot video at the fashion show, including the elaborate camera rigs that were used. The song in the background is Soothing Me So by Victory.

On the runway with iPhone 5s

Burberry Spring/Summer 2014. An incredible collection. Shot with stunning clarity. On iPhone 5s.


Roughly a month after the fashion show was shot with the iPhone 5s, Apple announced the hiring of Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts to run its retail and online stores. Ahrendts will join Apple in the spring and will continue in her role as Burberry CEO until then.

An exhaustive list of all the Apple references ever made in long-running television cartoons The Simpsons and Futurama has been compiled by Yoni Heisler of TUAW. On the air since 1989 and 1999, respectively, The Simpsons and Futurama have featured Apple products in various episodes more than 40 times.

Some standouts include a 2010 episode of Futurama where Bender declares the Mac to be better than the PC and a 1994 episode of The Simpsons, featuring the poor handwriting recognition capabilities of the Apple Newton, a PDA device.


Another highlight is a 2013 episode of The Simpsons that depicts a character attempting to use Siri to locate a hospital.

In this particular Simpsons episode, a store owner tries to use Siri to locate a hospital for Homer.

Upon doing so, Siri tells him, "I'm sorry, I don’t see any 'hos petals' near you. Deleting all contact information."

Furious, the man responds, "No, I didn’t ask you to do that Siri!" To which Siri responds, "Delete confirmed."

In 2008, The Simpsons aired what may be its most popular Apple-centric episode, with a satirical anti-Apple focus on the "Mapple Store" filled with MyPods, MyPhones, and a "braniac bar." The episode also introduced Mapple founder and Chief Imaginative Officer Steve Mobbs. "He's a genius!" shouts the crowd. "He's like a god who knows what we want!"


During his compilation of references, Heisler was able to speak with The Simpsons writer Bill Oakley and director David Silverman. According to the duo, computers on the show were often drawn as Macs because it was the platform of choice for animators in the 90s.

Oakley also noted that Smithers, Mr. Burns' well-known assistant, was written as a Mac user because he "is the type of progressive young fellow who would have a Mac rather than a PC."

Silverman wanted to be clear that references to Apple are only added to episodes for comedic effect and the show is carefully written to avoid product placement.

"Even if it's in the Simpsons universe and we created it," Silverman explained, "we don't want to put it in every show because it looks like we’re promoting it, and that’s not our point. Mapple is too close to the real thing."

The full list of Apple references can be accessed on TUAW and is well worth checking out. The compilation includes images, videos, and additional commentary from show creators.

NewImageOlympic athletes are being asked by Samsung to cover any Apple logos on their devices during the Parade of Nations at the 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony because Samsung is a lead worldwide sponsor of the Games.

The report, from a Swiss site (via SlashGear) [Translate], does not go into much detail on the request, but reports it as a condition of Samsung's sponsorship. From SlashGear:

Olympics sponsor Samsung is reportedly dropping Galaxy Note 3 smartphones in athletes' goodie-bags, though the gift comes with a catch: a supposed ban on any other device branding, iPhone or otherwise, during the opening ceremony.

Olympic athletes are controversially banned from mentioning any non-sponsor products during their time at the Olympics, including on social media and clothing.

All accredited competitors, coaches, trainers and officials are required to abide by Rule 40 of the Olympic Charter, preventing athletes from mentioning any non-Olympic sponsor companies. Athletes breaking Rule 40 can be punished with "removal of accreditation and financial penalties" or even total disqualification. The IOC has said on numerous occasions that protecting sponsors is of paramount importance because, without them, there could be no Games.

It's not entirely clear if this "Rule 40" was used as the reason for the ban on competitor logos. MacRumors has reached out to the United States Olympic Committee, the International Olympic Committee, and Samsung for comment but has yet to receive any response.

Update: The International Olympic Committee has said that athletes are free to use iPhones without restriction during the Opening Ceremony.

Apple will use lithium-ion batteries supplied by Samsung SDI, Tianjin Lishen Battery, and LG Chem for its upcoming iWatch, reports The Korea Herald. LG Chem in particular produces stepped batteries that are said to offer both greater longevity and greater flexibility, as they can be made in a variety of shapes.

lgbattery

LG Chem's Stepped Battery, courtesy of Android Central

"Apple will utilize LG Chem's stepped battery since it offers better longevity than others and can be applied for different shapes," a source said, declining to be identified.

A stepped battery is similar to a traditional lithium-ion battery but it also includes an extra ridge or "step" on the back that increases the battery's capacity. According to LG Chem, the design boosts capacity by 16 percent, which results in three extra hours of battery life in the LG G2 smart phone. Apple would, of course, need to use a much smaller battery, but such a design could help it eke out extra longevity.

Battery life is said to be one of Apple's major iWatch developmental issues, with a report from last year suggesting the company was seeing just one to two days of battery life in prototype devices. Another January report indicated Apple is still having trouble reaching its target goal of four to five days of battery life.

Along with its efforts to increase battery life, Apple has also been experimenting with a number of effortless charging methods that could make it easier for consumers to charge their devices on a frequent basis. Inductive charging, for example, would allow the iWatch to be charged wirelessly, alleviating the need for a traditional cable charging method. The company has also investigated solar and movement-based charging, but it is unlikely these technologies will be included in the iWatch.

Apple's iWatch remains in the developmental stages, but the company reportedly has a multitude of employees working on the device. It has hired a number of health and fitness experts in recent months and it appears that the device could include an array of battery-intensive functions and health sensors. It is unknown when the iWatch might be released, but recent reports have suggested that late 2014 could be a target goal, possibly alongside iOS 8 and the next-generation iPhone.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)

Following Adobe's release of a "critical" update for Flash Player yesterday to address a security issue that is currently being exploited in the wild, Apple has updated its "Xprotect" anti-malware system to disable older versions of the plug-in. The move forces users to upgrade to the latest version of Flash if they wish to continue using the still-common media plug-in.

xprotect_flash_12_0_0_44

Updated Xprotect definitions requiring new 12.0.0.44 version of Flash Player

Apple's Xprotect for OS X was introduced as part of OS X Snow Leopard in 2009 as a rudimentary anti-malware system that allowed Apple to block installation and running of the relatively rare cases of known malware targeting Mac systems. By 2011, Apple had upgraded the system to allow users' Macs to automatically check for updated definitions every 24 hours, ensuring up-to-date protection.

While primarily targeted specifically at malware protection, the Xprotect system also allows Apple to enforce minimum versions of plug-ins such as Flash and Java, and the company has on occasion blocked older versions of both of these plug-ins to ensure that users upgrade their systems.

Apple's use of the Xprotect system has, however, declined in recent months, perhaps signaling a slowdown in malware and other security issues affecting Mac systems. The most recent significant update to Xprotect definitions prior to yesterday came in mid-September to address the OSX/Leverage.A malware.

Apple today released a new support document that offers a solution for Late 2013 MacBook Pro and Mac Pro owners having difficulty with Airplay mirroring when connecting to an 802.11 b or g network.

macbook_pro_13_15_late_2013
The company suggests that users who are experiencing issues with dropped connections and frozen images on the television when using Airplay mirroring should turn off Bluetooth.

Turning off Bluetooth can enhance the performance of Airplay considerably. To turn off Bluetooth, locate the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar on the upper-right corner of your screen. Click the icon and choose Turn Bluetooth Off.

While it is unclear how widespread the Airplay mirroring issue is, there have been complaints about Airplay performance with the newly released MacBook Pros on both our forums and the Apple Support Communities. Users have noted both image freezing and significant lag when attempting to use Airplay mirroring.

Complaints about Airplay picked up in November, shortly after the October release of the latest Retina MacBook Pro models. Though there have been few complaints about the Mac Pro due to its limited availability, it is also displaying the same problem.

Because the issue is limited to b or g networks, another fix could include a router replacement supporting the n or ac standards.

Apple is joining Google and 13 other companies in a combined effort to curb frivolous lawsuits from patent holding companies, reports Bloomberg. Speaking to the Supreme Court justices, Apple said it has been sued 92 times by patent companies in the last two years. It currently has 228 unresolved patent claims and employs two lawyers who are dedicated to responding to royalty demands.

Google, joined by 13 other companies, told the justices that patent-assertion entities have an unfair advantage because they don’t make products of their own, leaving them effectively immune from countersuits.

Apple and the other technology companies are asking the Supreme Court to make it easier for companies to collect attorney's fees when patent holding companies lose infringement lawsuits. This allocation of fees, they argue, would cut down on the number of frivolous suits.

Just as Apple moves to seek judicial assistance in addressing patent abuse in the U.S., German patent holding firm IPCom has filed two patent infringement lawsuits in the German court system that accuse Apple of infringing on cellular technology it owns (via FOSS Patents). Both the European and German patents describe methods of managing priority emergency access when wireless networks are overloaded. Apple could pay more than $2 billion in damages if it loses these legal battles.

ipcom-patent-apple

The patent asserted in case no. 2 O 53/12, in which, inter alia, a partial claim of damages amounting to 1.57 billion euros ($2.12 billion), plus prejudgment interest, has been brought, is EP1841268. This patent has recently (on January 22, 2014) been the subject of a validity decision by the European Patent Office, in the first instance.

In case no. 2 O 95/13, in which no quantified damages claims but requests for an accounting and for declaratory judgment of liability for damages have been brought so far, the patent-in-suit is DE19910239, a German patent.

IPCom obtained both patents from German automotive parts company Robert Bosch GmbH. Apple, Nokia, HTC and others asked the European Patent Office to invalidate the European patent, but the EPO denied this request.

Apple again led the combined PC and tablet market in shipments during Q4 2013, according to a report from research firm Canalys. Apple shipped 30.9 million Mac and iPad units, accounting for a 19.5% share of the market. Lenovo secured the second spot behind Apple by increasing its market share 25.5% year-over-year, as the Chinese company jumped over HP and now has an 11.8% share of the global PC market.

q30214_PC_Canalys2
Canalys' estimates show that 84.3% of Apple's shipments, or 26 million units, were iPads. The combined launch of the iPad Air and the Retina iPad mini helped boost the company's share of the overall tablet market from 27.4% in Q4 2012 to 34.1% in Q4 2013.

Apple remained the PC market leader in Q4, shipping 30.9 million units to take a 19.5% share of the market. It shipped 26.0 million iPads, which accounted for 84.3% of its total shipments in Q4. Apple’s share of the overall tablet market increased sequentially from 27.3% to 34.1%, with the launch of the iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display providing a much needed boost. The original iPad mini also fell in price, down to US$299 in the US, making it cheaper than ever to buy an iPad. But competition is mounting and Android tablets are falling in price, which will put pressure on Apple’s market share in 2014.

Overall, the worldwide combined PC and tablet market was bolstered by strong consumer interest in tablets and grew 17.9% in the final quarter of 2013. The tablet market increased 65.2% year-over-year, while PC shipments declined 6.9% yearly. In total, tablets now account for 48.3% of the total PC market.

Steve Jobs had a desire to launch an OS X-compatible Sony VAIO, according to a new blog post from longtime Japanese freelance writer Nobuyuki Hayashi (via The Verge). The account comes from a 2011 interview with former Sony president Kunitake Ando, who stated Jobs and another Apple executive presented him with a VAIO running OS X during a winter golf tournament in Hawaii.

sony_vaio_flip2

Most of Sony's executives spends their winter vacation in Hawaii and play golf after celebrating new year. In one of those new year golf competitions back in 2001, "Steve Jobs and another Apple executive were waiting for us at the end of golf course holding VAIO running Mac OS" recalls Ando.

Upon his return to Apple in 1997, Steve Jobs famously ended Apple's Mac OS licensing program for third-parties. However, Ando notes that Jobs was ready to "make an exception" for Sony's line of VAIO notebooks. Ando states that the partnership between the two companies never happened due to "bad timing" for Sony, as the company had finished optimizing both the VAIO's hardware and software specifically for Microsoft's Windows platform.

In addition to having a strong interest in the company's notebooks, Ando also claims that Jobs asked many questions about Sony's line of "SonyStyle" retail stores, which he believes led to inspiration for Apple's own retail stores. Jobs also reportedly inspired the GPS feature found in many of Sony's CyberShot cameras, as Ando recounts the former Apple CEO professing his desire for the feature upon using the product.

Ahead of a second patent infringement lawsuit set to take place on March 31, Apple and Samsung have filed a final list of the accused patents and products being brought to trial, reports FOSS Patents.

apple_samsung_logos
Previously, both companies agreed in September 2013 to drop one patent each from the trial, as Judge Lucy Koh ordered both companies to narrow the scope of their ongoing legal battle. Last month, Judge Koh also invalidated two of Samsung's patent claims, which will result in the Korean company bringing a total of only four patent claims to trial. Apple will bring the expected amount of five patents to trial.

Apple's asserted patents:
- U.S. Patent No. 5,946,647 "System and method for performing an action on a structure in computer-generated data" - Claim 9
- U.S. Patent No. 6,847,959 "Universal interface for retrieval of information in a computer system" - Claim 25
- U.S. Patent No. 7,761,414 "Asynchronous data synchronization amongst devices" - Claim 20
- U.S. Patent No. 8,046,721 "Unlocking a device by performing gestures on an unlock image" - Claim 8
- U.S. Patent No. 8,074,172 "Method, system, and graphical user interface for providing word recommendation" - Claim 18

Samsung products accused by Apple:
- Admire
- Galaxy Note
- Galaxy Note II
- Galaxy S II
- Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch
- Galaxy S II Skyrocket
- Galaxy S III
- Galaxy Tab 2 10.1
- Stratosphere

Samsung's asserted patents:
- U.S. Patent No. 7,756,087 "Method and apparatus for performing non-scheduled transmission in a mobile communication system for supporting an enhanced uplink data channel" - Claim 10
- U.S. Patent No. 7,551,596 "Method and apparatus for signaling control information of uplink packet data service in mobile communication system" - Claim 13
- U.S. Patent No. 6,226,449 "Apparatus for recording and reproducing digital image and speech" - Claim 27
- U.S. Patent No. 5,579,239 "Remote video transmission system" - Claims 1 and 15

Apple products accused by Samsung:
- iPhone 4
- iPhone 4S
- iPhone 5
- iPad 2
- iPad 3
- iPad 4
- iPad Mini
- iPod Touch (5th generation)
- iPod Touch (4th generation)
- MacBook Pro

Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents noted that both companies' current products do not appear on either list due to the lengthy process of U.S. patent litigation lawsuits. However, the list of accused products and their outcomes in the trial may be used as a basis for damages and injunctive relief going forward.

Mueller also noted that the anonymous request to reexamine Apple's infringed autocomplete patent has been granted, with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) now scheduled to take a closer look at the viability of the patent:

In August 2013, the USPTO granted the reexamination request only in part -- and in a way that would have been useful for Samsung's purposes. But the anonymous requester(s) kept fighting for a more comprehensive review and filed a petition. That petition related to various claims the examiner refused to reexamine, particularly including claim 18, the claim-in-suit. In mid-January, the USPTO published a favorable decision on the petition, holding that the anonymous requester had indeed raised substantial new questions of patentability.

A mediation meeting between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung Electronics CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon is scheduled to take place before the trial, with the date for the session set for on or before February 19. Both companies will also partake in a separate trial centered around Apple's new call for a U.S. ban on Samsung products set for January 30.

iphone_4_press2Apple has plans to reinstitute iPhone 4 production in order to sell the device in India, Indonesia, and Brazil, reports The Economic Times. A January report indicated Apple would relaunch the discontinued iPhone 4 in India, but it was unclear at that time if the company was continuing production on the phone or selling old inventory.

Citing three senior executives with knowledge of the company's plans, the site suggests offering a lower cost iPhone will help Apple recoup market share in those countries. Apple partner Foxconn is said to have already begun production on the devices.

The maker of iPads and MacBooks is betting the lower price point will help it wrest volumes from Samsung's Grand and S4 Mini, and recoup market share that has slumped, largely because it didn't have phones that were cheap enough.

Reproducing the iPhone 4 will mark the first time that Apple has resumed production of a discontinued product. Apple ceased selling the iPhone 4 in many countries following the September 2013 launch of the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c, and its current lineup consists of the aforementioned models along with 2011's iPhone 4s.

The entry level iPhone 5s sells for Rs. 53,500 ($856) in India, while the entry level iPhone 5c is Rs. 41,900 ($670). The reintroduced 8GB iPhone 4 retails for Rs. 22,900 ($360).

Apple has hired Roy J.E.M Raymann, from Philips Research, for its iWatch team, according to a report from 9to5Mac. The hire is the latest in a long series of recent reports that suggest Apple is hiring a wide variety of health and medical sensor experts for its upcoming iWatch product.

According to Raymann's LinkedIn biography, his main research is in "how to optimize rest and activity", "non-pharmacological approaches to promote sleep", and "interpretation of ambulatory physiological and biomechanical data". He did other research on sleep and coffee, power napping, and he founded the Philips Sleep Experience Laboratory, a non-clinical sleep research facility.

Philips Research
Philips Research has been involved in many major technological advancements, including the development of the compact disc, LED lightbulbs, the MRI, and more.

Philips Research is a global organization that helps Philips introduce meaningful innovations that improve people’s lives. We provide technology options for innovations in the area of health and well-being, targeted at both developed and emerging markets. Positioned at the front-end of the innovation process, we work on everything from spotting trends and ideation to proof of concept and – where needed – first-of-a-kind product development.

The hire suggests Apple could be looking to help iWatch buyers with tracking and improving sleep, while also possibly tracking other health data like pulse and activity, and blood data like glucose levels. Several current fitness tracking devices are designed to track both sleep length and sleep quality. For example, bands like the Jawbone UP and the Fitbit Force are both able to slip into a night time monitoring mode that keeps track of sleep.

Philips confirmed to 9to5Mac that Raymann no longer works at the company, but would not say where he was currently employed.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)