The Apple Watch represents the first new product category from the Cupertino company in over four years and, with watchOS 2 already announced, is clearly one Apple wants to evolve quickly.
The definitive round up: The best Apple Watch apps
We've rounded up all the aspects of this landmark device, diving deep into every feature and everything you need to know about ordering and buying Apple's smartwatch.
Unlike every other Apple product launch in recent history, queuing outside the store will get you no-where...for now, at least
You can go and try one on in store, by booking an appointment using the Concierge service. It's worth doing, because the Watch is a lot smaller in real life than the pictures, and with so many combinations of bands, it's well worth taking the time to look in-store.
Apple has revealed, however, that by late-June you should be able to go in the store and buy one and that anyone who pre-ordered in May should be getting their smartwatch delivered anytime soon.
There are two sizes
The most fancied smartwatches of late have been those with round faces but the Apple Watch is square with rounded corners. You can get it in two sizes - 38mm or 42mm from the top of the face to the bottom - and, although it's not been mentioned specifically, it's basically a case of one for men and one for women.
The resolutions of the two Apple Watch models was confirmed with the company stating the pixel counts with the release of the new WatchKit software.
For the the larger 42mm version it's 390 x 312 pixels and for the smaller Apple Watch, the 38mm one, you're looking at a 340 x 272 resolution.
Those 38 and 42mm sizes are not the diagonal of the display area; they refer to the height size of the cases (as confirmed by Apple here) so calculating the pixel density of the Watch's Retina display isn't straightforward. Just trust us that it's 302ppi for the bigger one and 290ppi for the smaller one.
Hardware specifics
As usual, Apple's kept the lid on much of its Watch's specs, which means we're frustrated by lack of solid information about the innards of Apple's latest must-have device.
However, we do know that the Apple Watch will run a totally new chip, which the company is calling the S1. Apple uses Samsung built ARM-based chips for the iPhone range, and its Korean rival is said to behind the RAM and NAND flash storage, and the assembly itself, for the Apple Watch's System in Package (SiP). Reports have suggested the processor is similar to the A5 silicone used in the iPhone 4S.
Wearables are all about sensors, and the Apple Watch has a gyroscope and accelerometer to track your movements, for the health tracking.
We've also recently found out that the Watch has 8GB of storage with 2GB set aside for music.
There's apps galore
Devs have been working on Apple Watch apps since November 2014 thanks to the WatchKit API.
Standalone apps weren't available for developers at launch though - it's simply iPhone extensions for the time being. However, there are over 3,000 apps already, with some estimates saying that could rise to 100,000 very quickly.
Apple Watch everything you need to know
At WWDC 2015, Apple revealed that native apps will be arriving on the Apple Watch with watchOS 2.
CEO Tim Cook described the move as "a giant moment" for the company and stated developers now have the means to "create new applications to change people's lives".
The new platform moves the App Logic directly to the Watch. This means standalone apps that work independently of iOS devices.
These apps can operate on their own, tapping into known Wi-Fi networks and developers have access to the likes of HealthKit, hardware like the accelerometer and controls like Digital Crown.
Don't forget Siri
Every manufacturer loves a little voice recognition in its smartwatch, even if if the public remains unconvinced, and Apple is no exception. You can use the concierge service to dictate messages, find places on a map and check your calendar too.
When the big software update arrives later this year you'll be able to use Siri to reply to emails with smart replies, emojis - like Android Wear - and voice dictation. As an aside, Siri will also be able to pull up Glances.
Apple Watch models in details
At the heart of Apple Watch, standard edition, is a stainless steel case either finished in a polished metal look or a space black. There are three different leather bands, a link bracelet and a woven metal strap called a Milanese loop plus one made from high-performance fluoroelastomer.
The leather straps are from a French tannery called the Modern Buckle, a ribbed design called the Leather Loop or the Classic Buckle. Each come with a small set of colour options.
As for that rather high-tech sounding variant, that's the Sport Band which is designed to be durable but soft and light. It's bright white or black. For fastening, you're either looking at a standard buckle or a magnetic clasp.
Prices for this edition are from $549, right up to $1,000+ .
Apple Watch Sport
The Sport version is characterised by a lightweight, anodized aluminium in either silver or space gray finish. Instead of the sapphire crystal front, though, it's strengthened by Ion-X glass. What you end up with is an Apple Watch that's 30% lighter than the stainless steel models.
In keeping with that ideal, the straps are made of fluoroelastomer and come in either white, blue, green, pink and black with a pin mechanism to keep them closed.
This is the cheapest Apple Watch with $349 getting you the 38mm model. It's $399 for the bigger ones.
Apple Watch Edition
As the name suggests, the Watch Edition is the luxury end of things. If you want one of these, expect to pay top whack. There are six to choose from with each based around an 18-karat gold case that the company claims is twice as hard as standard gold. We're also back to the polished sapphire crystal on the top.
There's a yellow gold with bright red strap in the 38mm size, a rose gold with white sport band in both sizes, a rose gold with rose grey strap in 38mm, a yellow gold with black sport band in 42mm and a yellow gold with midnight blue strap in 42mm. If you want a better idea of what all that looks like, then take a look at our dedicated Apple Watch styles piece.
At $10,000 a pop, this isn't going to be the biggest selling category.
It can do phone notifications...
You'll get all the notifications you'd expect with SMS, email, phone calls, Twitter and Facebook all featured.
With messaging, you can reply using several template responses, rather than accessing some kind of keyboard, but the system is smart/nosey enough to analyse your SMS and include any custom reply options that it thinks you might need. Another choice is to dictate a message back which can either be sent as an audio file or transcribed by the watch. Finally on messages, there's also some serious graphical intrigue with the use of customisable emojis and pictorial hand-gestures as communications that you can send back to your mates.
Phone calls can be full voice using the watch's waterproof speaker and email can either be opened direct on your phone or flagged for reply at a later date. Again, no on-screen keyboard to fiddle with. Wi-Fi takes over instead of Bluetooth for taking calls at home, which is a nice touch.
...read your heart rate...
Optical heart rate monitors are just the ticket for wearables that intend to be used for sports. Apple's stuck one into the back of its watch and it uses infrared and standard LEDs to measure your capillary blood flow and detect your pulse. That's the good news.
But it doesn't have GPS
And that's the bad news. Apple says that Watch uses the Wi-Fi and GPS information from your phone. On the one hand, that saves on battery life and bulk. On the other, you're going to have to go running with your mobile on you if you want to get proper metrics. That's not the future.
Digital Touch is the new Facetime
One of the most novel features of Watch is the Digital Touch idea. It's a person to person way of communicating to other Apple wearable wearers. You can sketch images, use it like a voice walkie-talkie, send a simple tap to let people know you're thinking of them or even make them feel your actual heartbeat vibrating on their wrist.
It might sound a little strange but these things can take off. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it.
But it's still all about fitness
Fitness tracking is obviously an enormous part of the Apple Watch proposition and the company has split the offering into two main areas. The first is the Activity App. It's about health, movement, wellness and your daily routine rather than sports features, and there are three main areas within that. Each of them is based around filling up a coloured ring graphic throughout the course of each 24 hours. Complete the circle and you've hit your target.
The Move ring show how many calories you've burned and it'll suggest a new goal based on your history. Exercise fills up when you do any kind of activity at about the level of a brisk walk or beyond. About 30 minutes of that each day will see you right. Finally, there's Stand. If you're getting slothful, Watch tells you to get up. If you can manage one minute's standing in 12 different hours of your day, then you win.
Apple Workout app
Running, cycling and walking are what the Workout App tracks with, sadly, no mention of swimming or anything else for the time being. It plugs the GPS information from your mobile into data from the on-board accelerometer and heart-rate sensors to give you all the time, distance and pacing metrics you'll need. It will recommend goals for the day, words of encouragement during your sessions and detailed stats on milestones and achievements.
All of that, plus the data from the Activity App, is then collated on your iPhone using the Health app. Everything in there can then be joined up with whatever your favourite fitness plan of choice is.
While all of this looks amazing graphically, we suspect that current sports watch users will need a lot more to make them want to convert.
...and paying for stuff
Apple Pay is an NFC contactless payment system introduced with the iPhone 6. It leverages all those loyalty, credit and debit card numbers that Apple users have been keeping tucked away in the Passbook app to process cash transfer just by waving your device in front of a reader in one of hundreds of thousands of locations in the US.
Apple Pay is set to work just the same with Apple Watch. You'll need to double click the button on the side, wave your wrist and then you get a buzz to confirm that it's all gone through.
Apple Pay is coming to the UK in July and it's also getting some new features later this year. Loyalty cards and store-issued credit and debit cards are stored in the renamed Wallet, and there's also a new security feature called Activation Lock which lets you add your Apple ID as an extra security measure.
It charges with another proprietary cable
The battery life mystery was finally solved at the 9 March Apple Watch event - the Apple wearable will require a daily charge with Tim Cook revealing an "all day" battery life of around 18 hours.The charging cable is a MagSafe one and, although we bemoan the lack of a regular Micro USB, Apple isn't unique in offering a proprietary charging solution for a smartwatch.
The battery size has been confirmed as just 205mAh, which is underwhelming to say the least.
You don't need a brand new iPhone
While you do need an iPhone to use Apple Watch, it doesn't have to be the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus. In fact, it doesn't even have to be the generation before either. Anything from the iPhone 5 onwards will do the trick. So, that's the 5, 5c, 5s, 6 and 6 Plus. That could have been a lot worse. The advantage, of course, to Apple is that there's already over 200 million potential customers out there.
watchOS 2 is coming later this year
As well as detailing the new native apps for Apple Watch, Apple also revealed that watchOS 2 adds a wealth of new users including Photo face, Photo Album face and TimeLapse face; all of which allow you to customise your smartwatch's watch face with your own images.
Complications have also been revamped, adding extra widgets to the Watch's face and a new function, called TimeTravel, lets you rotate through your day with the Digital Crown – seeing things like the temperature and appointments change as the day goes on.
Another neat new feature is the Nightstand mode, for when the Watch is charging. With a landscape display, it looks a lot like an alarm clock. The Apple Watch's physical buttons even act as snooze and off buttons.
The platform is available in developer beta now and will launch across all Apple Watch devices properly in the fall.
Full Specification of Apple Watch 2015:
Processor Apple S1 (System in Package)
OS Watch OS (As we called iOS for iPhone, iPad and iPod)
Display Property Retina 326 dpi,
272 x 340 pixels, 21.2 x 26.5
312 x 390 Pixels, 24.3 x 30.5
Sound High tech Speaker (Best sound quality)
Apple Watch Dimension 1.50 x 1.28 x 0.50 in
Charging functions Charger port on MagSafe technology powered by Apple inc
Connectivity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1 and NFC
Compatible devices iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 and 6 plus running on iOS 8
Used by Sensor Barometer, Hart rate sensor, Accelerometer
Navigation
- Capacitive touch (tap, swipe)
- Force touch (press)
- Digital crown (scroll, zoom, home, time, accessibility, Siri)
- Button (Friends, Apple Pay, power)
Sensors
- Ambient light
- Accelerometer
- Gyroscope
- Heart rate
Battery life
- 18 hours
- 3 hours talk time
- 6.5 hours audio playback
- 6.5 hours workout use
- 48 hours time check
- 72 hours power reserve (time only)
Inductive charging time
- 1.5 hours to 80%
- 2.5 hours to 100%
Processors
- Apple S1 computer-on-a-chip
Storage
- 8 GB total
- 2 GB for music
- 75 MB for photos
Collections
- Apple Watch Sport (7000 Series aluminum or anodized aluminum with ion-x glass)
- Apple Watch (316L stainless steel or diamond-like carbon coated stainless steel with sapphire crystal)
- Apple Watch Edition (18 karat yellow or rose gold with sapphire crystal)
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