Apple set to move into wearables market, according to blog post

Apple will break into the wearables market by incorporating sensors in headphones to measure heart rate and blood pressure, according to a posting on the anonymous app Secret.

The headphones would also use Apple's "iBeacon" system to help locate them if lost, according to the author of the post - who claims to have been let go from the company, along with others, last week.

Apple is also working on an "iWatch" wearable, the author suggested, but said that the "name isn't final yet". That would put it into contention with Samsung, which has released both a smart watch and a "Gear Fit" wristband that claims to measure heart rate, in favour of a minimal product that could be used on millions of its existing products.

The suggestion would also fit well with leaked suggestions that iOS 8, Apple's next version of its iPhone and iPad software, will incorporate a "Healthbook" app. Those leaks, first published by the 9to5Mac website in March, pointed to attempts by Apple to capitalise on the growing interest in tracking fitness.

But other research has also shown that people tend to discard separately bought fitness gadgets within a few months - suggesting that any successful "wearable" would have to have a dual function, one of which was not in health or fitness-related. Apple, however, could have a potential market among its own users of at least 100 million devices which could replace existing headphones with the newer ones.

The nature of Secret means that it is impossible to trace the authors of posts, or verify their identity. But it has gained increasing credibility as a number of staff inside Silicon Valley companies have begun using it and leaking sometimes confidential information.