Prior to its announcement back in September of last year, the tech world was still aware of Apple’s efforts to introduce a wearable, and while Apple Watch is no longer a big secret, the company did well to keep most of the interesting stuff under wraps until announcement. Providing a wide range of functions, one of Apple Watch’s main assets is its ability to track fitness and health data, but preparing its concerted push towards the lucrative wellbeing has taken a lot of research in preparation for the mass market. Indeed, the secretive Apple Watch health lab has been integral to readying what will hopefully transpire as a refined fitness companion, and having remained an enigma for so long, we now get our first peek at what exactly goes on behind the closed doors.
Like most of Apple’s not-yet-announced endeavors, the Apple Watch health lab hasn’t exactly been a public exhibition of the company’s future innovations. In fact, it has been completely shut off from prying eyes, but now, ABC News has been given a chance to check it out.
As noted by Apple’s Senior Vice President of Operations Jeff Williams, members of the staff at the company have been using the facility to work out for the past two years, performing activities like rowing and jogging, without knowing the specifics of the project that was being developed. Given that they were strapped up with various testing gear, they knew that something was in the works, and as we now know, the data and information collected is being utilized by Apple Watch’s fitness features.
As you’d expect, the lab is quite a bit more involved than your typical gymnasium, featuring climate chambers that can mock up all manner of different environments. We’ll have to wait until we can test the Apple Watch before we can assess whether Apple has really pushed for the burn in this regard, but given the amount of preparation that has gone into the lab, we’re definitely excited to test the fitness credentials firsthand.
Check out the embedded video below, which offers a brief, rare look at how Apple gathers its data for Apple Watch, and always, be sure to leave your comments in the section underneath.
You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the Web.