Apple has finally unveiled a smartwatch at the Flint Center in Cupertino.
The gadget, which notably goes by the name Watch instead of iWatch, has many stylish bands and comes in different sizes and models. Jony Ive, head of design at Apple, said there are "millions" of unique designs you can put together.
At first blush, Watch appears like a powerful device that is capable of dominating both the fitness band world and smartwatch world. In fact, Tim Cook, CEO at Apple, emphasised when debuting Watch on stage: "What we didn't do was take the iPhone and shrink the user interface and strap it on your wrist."
That said, it is immediately clear that Watch is packed-full of features. If you'd like to learn more about Apple's entry into the wearables space, continue reading. Pocket-lint has not only detailed when you can get Apple Watch but also everything it can do, or at least everything Apple has mentioned thus far.
Sizes: Watch comes in two different sizes. The 38mm (height) is the smaller size and the 42mm is the larger size.
Casings: There are also different Watch casing options available, including Stainless Steel, Silver Aluminium, 18-Karat Yellow Gold, Space Black Stainless Steel, Space Gray Aluminium, and 18-Karat Rose Gold.
Straps: There are at least six different types of straps, including various colours and materials. Straps include a Link Bracelet, Sport Band, Leather Loop, Classic Buckle, Modern Buckle, and Milanese Loop. They appear to click into a slot on Watch.
Display: Apple's Watch has a rectangular touchscreen display (though it slightly curves down the edges of the body) with a rectangular bezel. The Retina display is made of sapphire. It is also pressure or force-sensitive, meaning it can decipher a tap from a press.
Crown: There is also dial on the side of Watch called Crown. It acts like a primary interface controller. You can turn Crown to zoom in and out on a map or scroll through a list, etc. You can also press it to go back to the home screen or rotate to zoom out to "the universe" of apps and then tap in to the "neighborhood".
Digital touch: Apple has included a communications app called Digital touch. It has its own physical button, located directly below Crown.
Charger: Apple said Watch uses a "MagSafe wireless inductive charger". In other words, Watch features wireless charging.
Waterproof: Watch is water resistant, according to Apple. All the electronics are in a tiny board that is sealed to protect against water.
Sensors: Watch has an accelerometer, at least.
Companion watch: According to Apple, the iPhone is "required with Apple Watch".
Connectivity: Watch supports Wi-Fi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 4.0.
Extras: Apple said there is a "taptic engine" inside of Watch for subtle vibrations. Watch looks like it has a little speaker as well.
UI: The user-interface elements seem mostly circular. In fact, the homescreen appears to be a collection of dot icons you can sift through and arrange. It looks like the interface involves scrolling around the homescreen, tapping the dots to open apps or content, and a swipe-to-pan gestures, among other things.
Settings: There is a Settings area where you can enable or disable features such as Airplane mode, Bluetooth, and Do Not Disturb. You can also turn mute on or off and "ping" your iPhone to determine its location.
Glances: The interface screens are called Glances, and they display glanceable, swipeable information. You can get to them by swiping up from the bottom, and do the reserve to get rid of them. They seem a lot like widgets (display calendar data, music stuff, etc).
Watchfaces: Watch comes with 11 watch faces. They also display extra information. Some demos included an animated Mickey Mouse watch face and an astronomy watch face. You can use Force touch to choose or customise watch faces.
Force touch: According to Apple, Force touch is a new UI dimension. More specifically, it uses "tiny electrodes around the flexible Retina display to distinguish between a light tap and a deep press, and trigger instant access to a range of contextually specific controls - such as an action menu in Messages, or a mode that allows you to select different watch faces - whenever you want."
Friends: The Digital touch app shows a list of friends that you can communicate with, send sketches to, or even share your heartbeat with (the receiver who got your heartbeat will feel a vibration that matches your, well, heartbeat).
GPS: Watch uses the GPS from your iPhone.
Notifications: You can raise your wrist when you feel a vibration to see a notification. Just swipe up on the notification to act on it. Apple said notifications will "just show up" initially.
Phone: You can use Watch's built-in speaker and microphone for quick chats, or you can transfer calls to your iPhone for longer chats. You can also transfer calls from Apple Watch to your car’s speakerphone or your Bluetooth headset. And finally, you can silence incoming calls by covering Apple Watch with your hand.
Walkie Talkie: Apple briefly mentioned Watch has Walkie Talkie-like capabilities - involving the built-in speaker and microphone to send sound bites to friends.
Messaging: A message notification presents preselected answers. Watch can understand questions in messages and even analyses text to give you related responses. Alternatively, you can send a voice reply. There's no keyboard but you do have access to emoji and dictation.
Emoji: Speaking of emoji, Apple included custom emoji that you can adjust before sending. You can make the face wink, for instance. They're basically animations.
Mail: Of course Watch has Mail. They show up as alerts, and you can read the message, flag it, mark it as read or unread, or move it to the Trash.
Siri: Siri is built into Watch; just press down from the homescreen.
Photos: Watch has its own Photos app. You can zoom in and out of the photos view with Crown. Apple said all of your favourite photos "will just show up" on Watch.
Remote Camera: Watch doesn't have a camera but you can use it as a remote for the iSight camera on your iPhone. More specifically, use Watch to display a live preview of what your iPhone sees, as well as snap the photo or set a camera timer.
Maps: Of course there is a Maps app. Maps includes turn-by-turn directions, with different vibrations hinting whether you should turn left or right. You can pan around maps by swiping or zoom in with Crown.
Health: Watch includes pre-installed apps called Activity and Workout. These apps can help you track your fitness levels, measure things like calories, duration, and distance, and just "change the way we look at fitness in general, according to Cook.
Calendar: Apple said Watch sends you meeting reminders and even calendar invitations that you can accept or decline directly from your wrist.
Passbook: Just like on the iPhone, you can use Passbook on Watch to store your boarding passes, tickets, loyalty cards, and more.
Music: Watch has a Control area so you can control the music on your iPhone, without taking your iPhone out of your pocket.
Clock: Apart from telling you the time, Watch also has features for Alarm, Stopwatch, and Timer.
iTunes: You can use Watch to control your iTunes library on a Mac or PC. Gestures include the ability to swipe around the main menu, scroll through lists and collections, select songs, etc.
Apple TV: You can apparently also use Watch to navigate and control your Apple TV.
Apps: Apple showed a demo where you could tweet from your Apple Watch. You could also access airline flight information from one app and unlock your hotel room door by waving your watch at your hotel door (only for specific hotels) using a different app. There even a Pinterest app, as well as a BMW app for finding your car and a MLB app for scores. Apple further mentioned a Honeywell app for controlling your thermostat and a Nike app.
Developers: Apple said third-party developers can make apps for Watch. Developers can also extend how app notifications work with something called "WatchKit". They can, for instance, make notifications more actionable rather than glanceable.
The gadget, which notably goes by the name Watch instead of iWatch, has many stylish bands and comes in different sizes and models. Jony Ive, head of design at Apple, said there are "millions" of unique designs you can put together.
At first blush, Watch appears like a powerful device that is capable of dominating both the fitness band world and smartwatch world. In fact, Tim Cook, CEO at Apple, emphasised when debuting Watch on stage: "What we didn't do was take the iPhone and shrink the user interface and strap it on your wrist."
That said, it is immediately clear that Watch is packed-full of features. If you'd like to learn more about Apple's entry into the wearables space, continue reading. Pocket-lint has not only detailed when you can get Apple Watch but also everything it can do, or at least everything Apple has mentioned thus far.
What is Apple Watch?
Watch is Apple's long-rumoured iWatch. It is a smartwatch that works with iPhone 6, iPhone 6Plus, iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, and iPhone 5S.When will Apple release Watch?
Apple said Watch will be available for purchase in "early 2015".How much does Watch cost?
The starting price for Watch is $349. No details yet on price ranges or even pricing outside of the US.What are the hardware and tech specs?
Models: Apple said it offers three different models of Watch. The models are called Watch, WatchSport, and Watch Edition.Sizes: Watch comes in two different sizes. The 38mm (height) is the smaller size and the 42mm is the larger size.
Casings: There are also different Watch casing options available, including Stainless Steel, Silver Aluminium, 18-Karat Yellow Gold, Space Black Stainless Steel, Space Gray Aluminium, and 18-Karat Rose Gold.
Straps: There are at least six different types of straps, including various colours and materials. Straps include a Link Bracelet, Sport Band, Leather Loop, Classic Buckle, Modern Buckle, and Milanese Loop. They appear to click into a slot on Watch.
Display: Apple's Watch has a rectangular touchscreen display (though it slightly curves down the edges of the body) with a rectangular bezel. The Retina display is made of sapphire. It is also pressure or force-sensitive, meaning it can decipher a tap from a press.
Crown: There is also dial on the side of Watch called Crown. It acts like a primary interface controller. You can turn Crown to zoom in and out on a map or scroll through a list, etc. You can also press it to go back to the home screen or rotate to zoom out to "the universe" of apps and then tap in to the "neighborhood".
Digital touch: Apple has included a communications app called Digital touch. It has its own physical button, located directly below Crown.
Charger: Apple said Watch uses a "MagSafe wireless inductive charger". In other words, Watch features wireless charging.
Waterproof: Watch is water resistant, according to Apple. All the electronics are in a tiny board that is sealed to protect against water.
Sensors: Watch has an accelerometer, at least.
Companion watch: According to Apple, the iPhone is "required with Apple Watch".
Connectivity: Watch supports Wi-Fi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 4.0.
Extras: Apple said there is a "taptic engine" inside of Watch for subtle vibrations. Watch looks like it has a little speaker as well.
What can Watch do in terms of features?
Wake: You can wake Watch or turn on the display by raising your wrist.UI: The user-interface elements seem mostly circular. In fact, the homescreen appears to be a collection of dot icons you can sift through and arrange. It looks like the interface involves scrolling around the homescreen, tapping the dots to open apps or content, and a swipe-to-pan gestures, among other things.
Settings: There is a Settings area where you can enable or disable features such as Airplane mode, Bluetooth, and Do Not Disturb. You can also turn mute on or off and "ping" your iPhone to determine its location.
Glances: The interface screens are called Glances, and they display glanceable, swipeable information. You can get to them by swiping up from the bottom, and do the reserve to get rid of them. They seem a lot like widgets (display calendar data, music stuff, etc).
Watchfaces: Watch comes with 11 watch faces. They also display extra information. Some demos included an animated Mickey Mouse watch face and an astronomy watch face. You can use Force touch to choose or customise watch faces.
Force touch: According to Apple, Force touch is a new UI dimension. More specifically, it uses "tiny electrodes around the flexible Retina display to distinguish between a light tap and a deep press, and trigger instant access to a range of contextually specific controls - such as an action menu in Messages, or a mode that allows you to select different watch faces - whenever you want."
Friends: The Digital touch app shows a list of friends that you can communicate with, send sketches to, or even share your heartbeat with (the receiver who got your heartbeat will feel a vibration that matches your, well, heartbeat).
GPS: Watch uses the GPS from your iPhone.
Notifications: You can raise your wrist when you feel a vibration to see a notification. Just swipe up on the notification to act on it. Apple said notifications will "just show up" initially.
Phone: You can use Watch's built-in speaker and microphone for quick chats, or you can transfer calls to your iPhone for longer chats. You can also transfer calls from Apple Watch to your car’s speakerphone or your Bluetooth headset. And finally, you can silence incoming calls by covering Apple Watch with your hand.
Walkie Talkie: Apple briefly mentioned Watch has Walkie Talkie-like capabilities - involving the built-in speaker and microphone to send sound bites to friends.
Messaging: A message notification presents preselected answers. Watch can understand questions in messages and even analyses text to give you related responses. Alternatively, you can send a voice reply. There's no keyboard but you do have access to emoji and dictation.
Emoji: Speaking of emoji, Apple included custom emoji that you can adjust before sending. You can make the face wink, for instance. They're basically animations.
Mail: Of course Watch has Mail. They show up as alerts, and you can read the message, flag it, mark it as read or unread, or move it to the Trash.
Siri: Siri is built into Watch; just press down from the homescreen.
Photos: Watch has its own Photos app. You can zoom in and out of the photos view with Crown. Apple said all of your favourite photos "will just show up" on Watch.
Remote Camera: Watch doesn't have a camera but you can use it as a remote for the iSight camera on your iPhone. More specifically, use Watch to display a live preview of what your iPhone sees, as well as snap the photo or set a camera timer.
Maps: Of course there is a Maps app. Maps includes turn-by-turn directions, with different vibrations hinting whether you should turn left or right. You can pan around maps by swiping or zoom in with Crown.
Health: Watch includes pre-installed apps called Activity and Workout. These apps can help you track your fitness levels, measure things like calories, duration, and distance, and just "change the way we look at fitness in general, according to Cook.
Calendar: Apple said Watch sends you meeting reminders and even calendar invitations that you can accept or decline directly from your wrist.
Passbook: Just like on the iPhone, you can use Passbook on Watch to store your boarding passes, tickets, loyalty cards, and more.
Music: Watch has a Control area so you can control the music on your iPhone, without taking your iPhone out of your pocket.
Clock: Apart from telling you the time, Watch also has features for Alarm, Stopwatch, and Timer.
iTunes: You can use Watch to control your iTunes library on a Mac or PC. Gestures include the ability to swipe around the main menu, scroll through lists and collections, select songs, etc.
Apple TV: You can apparently also use Watch to navigate and control your Apple TV.
Apps: Apple showed a demo where you could tweet from your Apple Watch. You could also access airline flight information from one app and unlock your hotel room door by waving your watch at your hotel door (only for specific hotels) using a different app. There even a Pinterest app, as well as a BMW app for finding your car and a MLB app for scores. Apple further mentioned a Honeywell app for controlling your thermostat and a Nike app.
Developers: Apple said third-party developers can make apps for Watch. Developers can also extend how app notifications work with something called "WatchKit". They can, for instance, make notifications more actionable rather than glanceable.
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