Posted on 03/09/2015 11:26:25 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
It’s been some time since Apple introduced the world to the Apple Watch, it’s first wearable ever. Few devices could hold our attention for so many months without losing their allure, but because it’s Apple, we’ve been following every move since it first appeared onstage in September. Now, the time has finally come to meet Apple Watch. Here’s what we know so far.
A note on updates: We’re updating this post with all the news from the March 9 reveal, so keep checking back.
Tim Cook relieved a lot of people today when he announced that the Apple Watch will tell time accurately. He said it’s within 50 milliseconds of UTC, so you’re never behind. Cook also showed off watch face widgets for the first time, which can be anything from a stopwatch, calendar events, world clock, or other tools. The Glances feature was also explained. All you have to do is swipe up from bottom of watch to see Glances such as weather, calendar, music, heart rate, and other key information that you only need to see for a second or two at a time.
Cook claimed the Apple Watch offers brand-new ways to communicate immediately and intimately with your family and friends. Thanks to what Apple calls Digital Touch, you can send animated sketches scribbled on the screen to a friend’s Watch, in real time, or send a tap from your watch to get your their attention. It’s even possible to send your digital heartbeat.
Unlike Android Wear, the Apple Watch will have a home screen that’s full of app icons. The app icons look like small, brightly colored bubbles, resting on a black field. You’ll be able to choose which app to open at will. However, we’ve also heard that the watch will be contextually aware and bring up appropriate apps when you need them most. You’ll receive notifications, calls, texts, and other alerts on your wrist, which you can glance at, answer, or dismiss.
Related: The Apple Watch must succeed for smartwatches to surrvive
The watch will supposedly know when you’re looking at it and turn off when you’re not, so you don’t have to worry about pressing the power button every five minutes. Apple says the screen will be sensitive enough to recognize a “force touch” press from a light tap, so you’ll have yet another way to interact with the watch. Meanwhile, the digital crown will handle all the zooming, scrolling, and so on. Additionally, Siri will be there for voice commands, dictation, and other functions.
Apple always puts a lot of focus on design, but it has really put the emphasis on style for the Apple Watch. The watch comes in three versions, each made of different materials. All three watches will come with several strap options at the start, though many third-party manufacturers are expected to jump in with their own straps, too.
The entry-level Apple Watch Sport is made out of anodized aluminum and comes in space gray or silver. You can choose from a variety of strap options, including brightly colored silicon. The Sport has an ion-X strengthened glass screen to protect it from scratches. Meanwhile, the mid-range Apple Watch comes in stainless steel with a hadr-wearing sapphire crystal face, and you can choose between the space gray or standard silvery finish options. A variety of metal, leather, and other kinds of straps are available for this model.
Related: Get a virtual pet on your Apple Watch
Finally, the premium and likely most expensive version of the Apple Watch, called Edition, comes in 18-karat yellow and rose gold. The watch face is made of sapphire crystal, and you can choose from several fancy leather and metal strap options.
So far, wearables have been one-size fits all, but that’s not the case with Apple Watch. It will come in two sizes, 38mm and 42mm, so as to fit a wider range of wrists more comfortably. For reference, the 38mm Apple Watch will be smaller than the 1.56-inch wide Moto 360, as well as the 42mm Huawei Watch. It will also be much shorter than the Samsung Gear 2, which measures 58.4mm tall. Theoretically, this will make it ideal for smaller wrists, while those who can sport a Moto 360 and look natural can have the larger 42mm version.
According to Apple’s WatchKit developer information, the 42-millimeter Apple Watch model will feature a screen with 390 × 312-pixel resolution, and the 38-millimeter model will pack a 340 × 272 pixel resolution.
Jeremy Kaplan/Digital Trends
As with any smartwatch, one the Apple Watch’s biggest features is fitness. Tim Cook says it’ll even give you a tap on the wrist if you sit for too long. The watch has a built in heart rate monitor, which should give it accurate fitness tracking and an awareness of how many calories you’ve burned. It will track your steps, the intensity of your workouts, and other fitness metrics. The accelerometer and GPS are also sure to draw gym rats, as are the personalized fitness goals in the workout app.
Just like the latest iPhones, the Apple Watch will work with Apple Pay, thanks to built-in NFC. Tap-to-pay will undoubtedly become much easier once you’re doing it from your wrist instead of your phone. Reports hint that it’ll be secure, thanks to sensors in the Apple Watch that know it’s on your wrist when you pay.
Apple isn’t a miracle worker, and it probably still hasn’t solved the eternal smartwatch battery life conundrum. The Apple Watch will almost certainly need charging every night in its box, or with the company’s MagSafe charger. Luckily, it seems there’s a power saving mode, which should keep the most basic watch functions alive when the battery’s running low.
Tim Cook even says you can wear it in the shower, while you’re running in a rainstorm, or sweating through a hot yoga class. There’s no mention of swimming with it, though.
We’ve heard that pricing will start at $350 and go up from there, perhaps into the thousands of dollars. Tim Cook previously said the Watch will arrive in April, but we’ll keep you updated in the meantime.
It will not have a “gay-looking polka dot display” unless you want it to. You can make the face look like a standard analog watch, a digital display, a digital display of date and time with three buttons underneath...I even saw a display that looked like a Mickey Mouse watch.
There is little visual difference between the $350 version and the $10,000 version. Different materials and bands determine the price difference.
I never knew everything that I could do with an iPad until I owned one. I wanted one primarily as a reader and web access. I didn’t know just how indispensable it would become at work. The Watch strikes me as the same kind of thing. It will change the way we do things in ways we do not even know.
I strongly suspect that in a year we will laugh at your comments like we now laugh at the naysayers of the iPhone and iPad when they first came out.
I’ll wait for the cyberbrain..... version 4.14a
first there were glassholes
now we have watcholes (iholes)
I don't think it looks "gay", not at all.
iwatch says look at me I have arrived.
a rolex says I have arrived I don’t care what you think.
Mostly you wouldn't even be able to tell someone is wearing an AppleWatch, so exactly how would it say "I have arrived"? Most of the time it will look just exactly like a normal watch with your choice of dials.
In 2001 there were hundreds of MP3 players out there with no one company dominating. Apple introduced the iPhone and changed everything.
In 2007 there were hundreds of cell phone models and the Blackberry was king. Apple introduced the iPhone and changed everything.
Companies had tried to make a practical, popular tablet for years. No one had hit that sweet spot of useful, portable and price until Apple made the iPad in 2010.
There were cheaper MP3 players, but Apple succeeded where so many had failed.
There were (and are) cheaper cell phones, but Apple dominates the industry.
There are cheaper tablets, but no one company comes near Apple’s sales of the iPad.
You may hate them to the point of delusion, but Apple has become the most successful company OF ANY KIND of all time.
If you have a problem with Apple, I suggest the source is you, not them.
It is the perfect tool for the Lear jet liberal, made under duress in China, for lecturing us on how we are not doing our part to save the planet.
Lear jet liberal
wow that’s an awesome tag, love it!
Go to link, lots of pics.
I am so buying one of these. I have an iPhone 5s so cannot utilize Apple Pay but I understand that I will be able to with the Apple Watch. YAY
No Jobs, no ideas. Although cash-rich, Apple is now entering its own Microsoft phase.
LMAO!!
Nuff said :)
Thanks, but I don’t think I made it up.
It’s the perfect term for the Clintons, Gore, Tom Steyer, etc.
500 dollars for something that looks slightly less like a toy, still needs to be charged after 18 hours, and practically useless for much more than getting texts and sending doodles to other Apple watches?
Still about as gay as it gets.
Have fun navigating a tiny screen full of gumballs. The only thing missing is a complementary “sucker” sign to go on the back of whomever shells out money for yet another thing the feds can track you with.
Trust you to not know anything about the AppleWatch. Always negative about anything to do with Apple. . . and positive about everything to do with Microsoft or Android. You suffer from a severe case of MAPS:
Swordmaker's and Kathy's proposed diagnosis for the new ICD-10 addenda:
90210 iOS Munchausen's Apple-Plexy Syndrome (MAPS), The overwhelming compulsion to post negative, judgmental, aggressive, and false commentary on any website thread related to Apple products wherever found, including phobic reaction to projected Apple user euphoria. First and subsequent encounters.
There are several OSs but Microsoft made them work for everyone!
There are lots of laptops, but Lenovo has showed us how it’s done right!
You can get different Phone OSs, but Android has mastered it!
You can use lots of things to watch videos on TV, but only Chromcast makes it work!
You can use any web browser, but Internet Explorer is the gold standard!
Yeah you can buy an Apple server, but only real companies use Microsoft’s offerings!
Obama got more votes in the last two elections, Should we shut down FR and never question anything that comes out of his mouth?
Seriously, what’s your point? That Apple sells X amount of whatever, so shut up and worship them?
Oh, I know. Not to mention that ‘half dead’ feeling you have for nearly a week. (in my case anyway)
I HATE DST!!!!!
This morning my wife and I were getting out of bed an hour before we normally do, and was wondering why in the hell we do this to ourselves intentionally. There is NO good reason for it!
As a country, it seems like whenever a bad idea is implemented, it NEVER goes away.
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