Apple Announces the Apple Watch; Available Next Year
by Joshua Ho on September 9, 2014 2:06 PM EST
Apple has thrown their hat into the wearable ring with the Apple watch, which tries to bring a better user experience to the watch without trying to adapt iOS to the watch with multi-touch gestures that we're familiar with on the iPhone.
There's a single crystal sapphire display, a digital dial crown that acts as a home button and a scroll system. There's also a strong emphasis on haptic feedback which allows for linking of watches to share notifications by sending taps in any possible pattern. This is done by using a force sensitive touchscreen, which is a method of navigating along with the scrolling dial. This allows for subtle communication that doesn't rely on obvious sound or gestures. It's also possible to send taps based upon pulse/heart beat.
There are IR lights and sapphire lenses on the back of the watch for heart rate and serves as a magnetic alignment wireless charging system. The accuracy of the watch is no more than 50 milliseconds off at any time.
In order to support this watch, Apple has also designed a custom SoC called S1, likely for battery life and sensor integration and reduction of board area.
There are six different straps that are easily exchanged. The sport band has multiple colors and is some kind of rubber. There's a leather sports strap which has multiple magnets to ensure that the fit works correctly. There's also a traditional leather strap and a stainless steel link bracelet. There's also a stainless steel mesh band that is infinitely adjustable. There are also two versions of each watch edition, one larger and one smaller.
The Apple Watch also has NFC and will work with Apple Pay.
There are actually three variants though, which include the standard Apple Watch, Watch Sport, and the Watch Edition which has 18 karat gold for the casing. The sport edition has a anodized aluminum casing.
Furthermore the watch will also come in two different case sizes to account for different wrist sizes (essentially his & her watch sizes). These sizes are 38mm and 42mm tall respectively.
The Apple Watch must be paired with an iPhone to work properly. It starts at $349 USD and will go on sale early 2015.
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fteoath64 - Thursday, September 11, 2014 - link
This is exactly the case i high value items which people do not buy everyday or every-week. It is for smaller items that people buy a few times a week like food, groceries, maybe clothing.The convenience factor is not so much a benefit for people but can be if they have a choice where they shop especially if they can get better service for a given payment mode.
Chriz - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
"The Apple Watch must be paired with an iPhone to work properly."So you need to own an iPhone to own the watch?
allknowingeye - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
I love the new EyeWatch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HD6QM_kg0Iol1bit - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
LO! Nice!dragonsqrrl - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
No word on specs... or like anything yet? These announcement articles have been surprisingly vague.Ryan Smith - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Apple has not announced any meaningful specifications for the Watch. The discussion has mostly been on the features and functionality, which we have covered above.dragonsqrrl - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Thanks for the reply.eanazag - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Something is up since it is not being launched till the new year missing the holiday season. Not that I have cash for it.fteoath64 - Thursday, September 11, 2014 - link
This is where Apple could pull a surprise for people and ship limited numbers to pre-orders for the holiday season. It is hard to understand how any company would miss a big holiday season when it is clearly their own FAULT that they failed to produce a product in time of market expectation. Buyers can wait only so long then, they switch and if and when they find the competition good they will not come back. This has been the case for many high-end users who have "outgrown" apple. Yeah, they value more choice, freedom and the flexibility it gives them. No brand can keep people in a leash once people understand their buying power and the power of choice. ie Buy others or not to buy at all.IKeelU - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
love the look and design. Curved edges are the new modern, and combined with the sapphire it gives a slight halo around the screen. The gold option is a nice touch and will cement apple as the high end choice for smartwatches (even Samsung et al improve on the specs). I hope they plan a simultaneous Asian release because China/India will gobble this up.