Apple Inc.’s new high-end iPhone gives a glimpse of future products that may be in store from the world’s most valuable company.

A new motion-sensor chip inside the iPhone 5S lays the groundwork for wearable-computing products, while a fingerprint sensor opens more opportunities to make the smartphone a tool for making purchases at stores, according to technology analysts who study Apple. Another new processor chip in the device may give the company the chance to switch its Mac computers away from Intel Corp. chips.

“These are important first steps that Apple is taking,” Tim Bajarin, an analyst with research firm Creative Strategies Inc., said in an interview. 

Since Apple unveiled two iPhones on Sept. 10, investors and analysts have been looking for clues about future gadgets and services from the Cupertino, California-based company. The scrutiny is amplified because Apple hasn’t entered a new product category since the iPad’s 2010 debut, and the release of a watch-like wearable computer or fresh payments platform would clear the way to added revenue streams.

Of the two handsets that Apple introduced last week, the iPhone 5S is the higher-end one, starting at $199 with a wireless contract. The less-expensive iPhone 5C, which starts at $99 with a contract and was available for preorder on Sept. 13, doesn’t include the motion chip, fingerprint reader or 64-bit processor that are found in the 5S.

Even before the new iPhones were unveiled, Apple has taken steps toward wearable devices. The company has been seeking trademarks for the name iWatch in countries including Japan. Apple also has a team of about 100 product designers and engineers working on a wristwatch-like device, two people familiar with the company’s plans have said.

Tom Neumayr, a spokesman for Apple, declined to comment.

Apple’s entry into new markets may upend the nascent mobile-payments and wearable-computing businesses. Nike Inc., Fitbit Inc. and Jawbone have introduced wristband health-tracking devices, while Square Inc. and EBay Inc.’s PayPal have been developing payment networks for phones.

At the event introducing the iPhone 5s, Apple highlighted the new M7 chip for health and fitness applications. The chip, which is less battery-hungry than the handset’s other main processors, tracks movement through an accelerometer, gyroscope and compass, said Apple’s marketing chief Phil Schiller. It works in parallel to the other processors that power graphics and other core functions of the handset.

While the technology is initially intended to improve iPhone fitness applications, the chip will probably be incorporated into a new iWatch-like device from Apple, said Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst with Forrest Research who has studied trends in wearable computing. It can crunch data being generated by the wearable device, she said.

“Whether Apple launches an iWatch or another type of wearable device, the new chip will make that device much more powerful and make the experience of using it more seamless,” she said.

Apple is also allowing developers to build on top of the motion-focused chip. Nike’s Move application uses the technology to measure a person’s daily activity. Other fitness applications will be forthcoming. 

(Bloomberg)