Is a smart pedometer the next big release Apple has up its sleeve?
Documents released Thursday at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office show that the company is working on a device to more accurately measure a person's movement—presumably for a health-monitoring wearable device.
The patent covers a "smart wrist-mounted pedometer that can automatically determine its location on a user's body and compensate for missed steps using advanced processing algorithms," according to Apple Insider.
The company first filed a series of patents related to pedometer accuracy in April 2013.
Analysts are looking for the tech giant--whose stock is down slightly from the beginning of the year--to introduce new product categories to excite buyers again.
—By CNBC.com.