After countless rumors about an upcoming smartwatch from Apple, the Cupertino tech giant all but confirmed it with a new "iWatch" trademark application in Japan.

Apple apparently applied to register the "iWatch" term as a trademark in the country, indicating that all those rumors about wearable Apple tech were not too far off after all.

The trademark application, filed on June 3 with the Japan Patent Office, would cover products "including a handheld computer or watch device," Bloomberg reports.

Back in February, two people familiar with Apple's plans said the Cupertino tech giant hired an army of 100 product designers to work on a wristwatch-like gadget that would perform some of the tasks the iPhone and iPad currently handle.

Samsung already confirmed it is working on a smartwatch, among other products, while Sony is already in the game with a smartwatch of its own. As competition seems increasingly fiercer, it makes sense for Apple to want a slice of that pie, especially since the smartwatch market is just getting started.

Wearable technology seems to gain increasingly more ground, and the two most popular mobile platforms are Android and iOS. While smartphones and tablets are still popular, wearable devices running on these platforms have a great potential. Android already has its contenders, which means the ball is now in Apple's court to step up competition and come up with its own smartwatch running on iOS.

Smartwatches could become even more appealing considering that smartphones are getting increasingly bigger. Instead of taking a 5-inch+ smartphone out of a pocket or a bag just to check a text message or see whether you have any new notifications, a smartwatch could display that information more easily.

The concept is not something new, as smartwatches are already available on the market, but Apple seems to have a gift for entering an existing market and leaving its own mark, introducing a similar product that can revolutionize everything. Apple is famous for its innovations, and its fans are surely excited to see an iWatch product hit the market. While Apple has yet to announce a smartwatch product, the trademark application for the "iWatch" terms suggests the company is getting ready to launch its own wearable tech.