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Apple Watch will become available from 24th April

by Mark Tyson on 10 March 2015, 09:40

Tags: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

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Apple held its highly anticipated 'Spring Forward' on Monday. The main focus of the show was, of course, Apple's first wearable, the Apple Watch. While many of its smartphone making rivals have produced smartwatches and smartbands over the months leading up to now, the media in general seems to have felt that it would take Apple's wearable launch to define and to kick-start the industry.

We had previously seen the Apple Watch revealed in September when the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were launched. So we knew a lot about the appearance of the device, how it would be sold in 38mm and 42mm sizes and lots of other permutations of watch faces and straps. Yesterday we learnt that these permutations of design and construction are the only differences between the Apple Watch models – for instance there aren't models with more storage or more connectivity options (like the iPhone or iPad range offer). Despite this the Apple Watch can cost anywhere between $349 and $17,000 (£299 to £13,500 in the UK). The entry level price for the larger 42mm model will be $399.

Apple's pricing "demonstrates the confidence it has in the new Apple Watch's functionality, design and consumer appeal," wrote Ian Fogg, Director of Mobile Analysis, IHS Technology in an email to HEXUS. He noted that the Watch's 18 hour battery life means that it won't offer sleep tracking. Like some rival smartwatches it relies upon a paired smartphone (iPhone) in order to be a communication device.

The Apple Watch brings an interesting new UI and way of interacting with a wearable device. The 'Digital Crown' allows users to scroll, zoom and navigate fluidly without obstructing the display and the 'Force Touch' pressure sensitive display brings further interaction options.

Apple describes its new Watch as "an entirely new way to receive information at a glance and interact with the world through third-party apps designed specifically for the wrist". The official Apple Watch web pages focus upon the personal nature of a watch and how it brings both more immediate and more relevant information to the wearer. The tap you get when you receive an instant message and sharing of taps, sketches and even heartbeats is said to bring entirely new ways of communication to wearables.

Fitness features are also highlighted by Apple and like many wearables before it – it provides activity tracking from the smattering of biometric and other sensors it has built-in. Apple's iOS has just been updated to 8.2 with complimentary functionality and basic apps to integrate this health tracking. You will need iOS 8.2 to pair your Watch and iPhone and it will bring along, not just the fitness features but enable Apple Pay using your Watch.

"Apple Watch begins a new chapter in the way we relate to technology and we think our customers are going to love it," said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. "We can't wait for people to start wearing Apple Watch to easily access information that matters, to interact with the world, and to live a better day by being more aware of their daily activity than ever before."

From 24th April interested customers will be able to buy an Apple Watch online or by reservation in Apple's retail stores in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and the US. Before this time, from 10th April, Apple Stores will have some Watch models available for preview and try-on by appointment.



HEXUS Forums :: 16 Comments

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While many of its smartphone making rivals have produced smartwatches and smartbands over the months leading up to now, the media in general seems to have felt that it would take Apple's wearable launch to define and to kick-start the industry.
That's because a large segment of the media are completely Apple obsessed - just look at the pre-launch hype frenzy. Which, given the lack of enthusiasm here on Hexus, seems a little overblown.
Despite this the Apple Watch can cost anywhere between $349 and $17,000 (£299 to £13,500 in the UK).
Ouch, ouch, ouch - so I can buy a (better looking) LG G Watch R for £100 less, or a bling'd “Urbane” model for the same price? Um, “fail”.
He noted that the Watch's 18 hour battery life means that it won't offer sleep tracking.
Hmm, is that a big deal considering that Fitbit/Jawbone/etc do that feature with their products? Or is the iWatch supposed to be the “device to rule them all”. (Oh, and the Fitbit/Jawbones work with both Android and iOS!)

Only attraction of the iWatch is the newer interaction methods - some of these look like they could have some real potential if 3rd parties are going to pick 'em up and run with them. So maybe some kudos to Apple for daring to do this rather than playing it safe with merely an “electronic watch”.
I haven't worn a watch in over a decade, and I don't see this changing things.

The new Pebble is more interesting IMO. I expect sales on its kickstarter are going up a lot now that people have seen the Apple watch reveal.
Whilst the prices are comparable to real watches (in fact fairly cheap), it is eye-wateringly expensive compared to a petrol station Casio. Is it really worth paying that much for a disposable product that will probably be obsolete (or useless due to battery failure) and consigned to recycling or the back of a drawer within a few years?
Even Apple fans are saying it's too much.
The presentation also showed that most users struggled to use the digital crown and the menu trawling was very evident…
Brian224
Whilst the prices are comparable to real watches (in fact fairly cheap), it is eye-wateringly expensive compared to a petrol station Casio. Is it really worth paying that much for a disposable product that will probably be obsolete (or useless due to battery failure) and consigned to recycling or the back of a drawer within a few years?
Just nipped to WatchShop and did an online search for men's watches £199-399 with alarm feature and leather strap. This returned a Zeppelin, two Mondaine's, two solar-powered Seiko's and three Citizen's. All but one of the Seiko's would have given you a lot of change from the £399 base price. And all of them are waterproof to at least 30m, (200m for the Citizens!) and arguably better looking than your typical smartwatch.

I'm still thinking that smartwatches are a solution in need of a problem at the moment, and rather than going “designer” the manufacturers need to be doing the equivalent of that petrol station Casio.