Apple Hires Nike Fuelband Developer Jay Blahnik to Work on iWatch

Rumors about a health-related wearable device grows stronger as Apple hires Nike Fuelband developer and fitness guru Jay Blahnik to work on an unspecified project-- allegedly the "iWatch."

9to5 Mac reported that Blahnik has confirmed that he had joined the Cupertino, Calif.- company on a tweet response. The tweet said " @katieosumi, Yes it is true! A wonderful and exciting opportunity!"

Blahnik who had worked with Nike, Gatorade, and General Electric is saying goodbye to the fitness industry to take a job in Apple though there were no confirmation yet of his role in the company. However, with his experience it is likely that he will be assigned to work with the "iWatch team".

The Apple Insider reported in July that the iPad maker is eyeing the health monitoring market and had been hiring experts from the medical sensor field and specialists on blood pressure and glucose tracking.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also predicted that Apple is working on a wearable device that can be paired up with a smartphone equipped with biometric security and health monitoring features.

These rumors seem to make sense now that Apple hired Blahnik whose expertise fits perfectly in the puzzle. He had been with Nike for 20 years as an Elite Athlete and a consultant for the world's largest digital running community Nike+Running. He also has experience in developing fitness apps such as Nike's Training Club app which has about six million users.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook may also be a fan as he was seen wearing a Nike Fuelband on numerous events.

If it is not an iWatch, Blahnik may also take a role for helping the company develop an Apple for the living room as he also has worked with Xbox Kinect, according to 9to5 Mac. However, the AppleTV is very unlikely to happen anytime soon.

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