According to the Verge, the Apple Watch was initially intended as a multifunctional health-monitoring device, but its geniuses could not get the things to work.

Heart activity, blood pressure, and stress levels were among the things Apple wanted to track with the Watch, however issues of complexity and reliability — such as getting accurate readings on users with hairy arms or dry skin saw Jobs' Mob cut its losses.

Apparently, Apple then spent four years while the iWatch was a black hole for R&D and it still could not come up a gizmo that was anything more than an overpriced chocolate teapot.

It could not lie, er market, the health aspects of the iWatch because it would break US health laws, if Apple were to try and interpret its data to suggest health advice.

In the end Apple just released a fairly conventional watch which it plans to market the begesus out of, even if it is identical, if not slightly behind what is already out there.