Yo it's the iWatch!

Yo, the messaging app so simple it just says “Yo”, has soared past Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat to become the fifth most popular app in the US Apple app store in the last week, grabbing the attention of venture capitalists, hackers, and comedians. The app – where users press on a contact’s name to send a “yo!” - has become the talk of Silicon Valley as it takes mobile messaging to its logical, minimalist extreme. Almost 4m of the messages were sent in one day on Thursday. The recipient gets a notification that says “yo!” and who it is from. One Yo! account promises to notify a user whenever a goal is scored in the World Cup. Some say this is the stupidest app ever made, and many in the technology industry have echoed that sentiment with people taking to Twitter to deride the app, and in particular share their worries that it was able to raise so much money. The app even made it on to The Colbert Report (pronounced col-BEAR re-POR as if it were French), a popular nightly US comedy programme, where it was mocked for “boiling down all of communication to two letters” with host Stephen Colbert asking, “Y?” But there is a fascinating aspect lots of people are missing: Yo is an instance of ‘one-bit communication’ – a message with no content other than the fact that it exists. Yes or no. Yo or no yo. And watch or no watch, as after years of speculation, Apple looks set to finally enter the world of wearable tech as production is rumoured to begin on its iWatch next month. Numerous sources close to the matter have said the Californian company's much-rumoured first smartwatch, dubbed the iWatch by fans, will sport a 2.5-inch arched rectangular display supplied by LG. The device is said to contain more than 10 sensors for purposes including monitoring the user's pulse, and will need to be paired with an iPhone in order to send messages and voice chat with others. The iOS-compatible-only smartwatch is currently in trial production at Taiwanese manufacturer Quanta Computer Inc ahead of mass production starting next month and a potential October launch date, it has been alleged. While Quanta is expected be the main manufacturer, Singaporean sensor maker Heptagon is also said to appear on a list of suppliers.