Smartwatches

Apple Watch is the long-rumored iWatch

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The Apple Watch comes with a number of ways to personalize
Apps on the Apple Watch
Tim Cook talks the Apple Watch
Introducing the "digital crown"
The digital crown is a new smart watch interface
Directions on the Apple Watch
The Apple Watch comes with a number of ways to personalize
The Apple Watch Edition is a premium, gold-plated collection
Share your heartbeat via the Apple Watch
Four rear sensors measure heart rate
Maps on the Apple Watch
Navigating with the Apple Watch
The Apple Watch can take dictation for messaging
The watch's health app integrates with an iPhone
Photos can be viewed and magnified on Apple Watch
The Apple Watch will be available in 2015, starting at $349
Finding a movie
Sketching on the Apple Watch
The workout app for the Apple Watch
Press gets first look at the Apple Watch
The Apple Watch Edition
The Apple Watch Sport
The Apple Watch Edition
The Apple Watch
View gallery - 23 images

It's official. Apple is making a smartwatch called simply "Apple Watch," but you're going to have to wait for the opportunity to pay at least $349 for one until early next year. If the Apple Watch works as well as the company claimed during its lengthy unveiling on Tuesday, it just may be worth the wait.

Like the existing watches that run Android Wear or the Pebble or Samsung's Tizen-powered watches, the Apple Watch starts with the basic capability of being able to check your phone's notifications and the time, but then it adds functionality that goes far beyond what's been done before.

Multiple infrared and visible light LEDs on the back of the watch work to detect a pulse rate, which then interact with Apple's own health and workout apps to create what Tim Cook calls a "comprehensive health and fitness device." Case in point is the new health app that tracks steps, heart rate and active calories, just for starters.

The other big smart watch innovation on the Apple Watch is actually quite small. In fact, it's the little rotating button on the side of the watch that also functions as a control that Apple calls the "digital crown." Turning the digital crown allows you to zoom in on photos or to scroll through selections like the scroll wheel in the center of a mouse. It's a novel but simple addition typical of Apple that now seems an obvious choice after seeing it in action.

Four rear sensors measure heart rate

The Apple Watch also gets that scratch-proof sapphire touch screen we've been hearing about for so long now. It will also be able to tell the difference between a quick tap and holding your finger down on the screen, which Apple calls a "force touch" and provides another means of controlling apps on the device.

"We’ve developed multiple technologies and an entirely new user interface specifically for a device that’s designed to be worn. It blurs the boundary between physical object and user interface,” said Jony Ive, Apple’s senior vice president of Design.

Apple also introduced something called "Glimpses" for the watch that are essentially the same as the cards that Android Wear users are familiar with that show useful information like location, weather and upcoming appointments. Siri is also accessible and the Apple Watch allows you to respond to texts via dictation.

The digital crown is a new smart watch interface

The latest text analysis in iOS also attempts to extract likely responses to incoming messages and then allows you to simply respond by choosing from a few pre-determined response options, something not available on Android Wear.

The Apple Watch goes way beyond what any early smartwatch can do by integrating Apple's new payment system, Apple Pay, basically allowing the watch to stand in for a wallet or credit card at hundreds of thousands of locations in the United States. Apple has also clearly done more legwork with developers to ensure that a useful array of apps will make use of the Apple Watch. It announced WatchKit, a package of tools and APIs for developers during the event.

The company has already announced that Starwood Hotels will allow guests to use their Apple Watch as a room key, and apps for Pinterest, Nike and many others are already in the works. One of the strangest features Apple touted is the ability of the watch to measure your heart rate and then share it with another watch wearer who can then feel that heartbeat as simulated by the Apple Watch's "Taptic Engine."

The workout app for the Apple Watch

Taptic feedback is basically just a word Apple has chosen to describe the watch's use of haptic feedback. Apple claims that its system is more advanced than just basic vibrations of your wrist, and that different types of taptic feedback can actually tell you which way to turn while navigating, simply by the type of buzz the watch gives your wrist. The Taptic Engine also works in tandem with a tiny speaker to provide an even broader selection of possible alerts.

The heart of the Apple Watch is what the company has dubbed the S1 SiP (System in Package) that sounds a lot like a miniaturized version of a system-on-a-chip. Also inside are magnets to work with the wireless inductive charging system, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 radios to connect to your iPhone.

And yes, the Apple Watch does require an iPhone, but any iPhone 5 and up will work, including the 5, 5S, 5C, and the new iPhone 6 or 6 Plus.

The watch's health app integrates with an iPhone

Staying with the theme of choice and being "truly personal," which was Tim Cook's mantra for the day, there will be two sizes and three different styles of Apple Watch. There's your basic Apple Watch with a choice of straps, Apple Watch Sport with a stronger silver anodized aluminum case and sport band, or Apple Watch Edition that introduces an 18-karat gold case and premium straps to the equation.

The Apple Watch will start at US$349. Now for the bad news: It won't be available until "early 2015."

So much for the perfect holiday gift. Stay tuned to Gizmag for news on the Apple Watch as it comes in.

It's official. Apple is making a smartwatch called simply "Apple Watch," but you're going to have to wait for the opportunity to pay at least $349 for one until early next year. If the Apple Watch works as well as the company claimed during its lengthy unveiling on Tuesday, it just may be worth the wait.

Like the existing watches that run Android Wear or the Pebble or Samsung's Tizen-powered watches, the Apple Watch starts with the basic capability of being able to check your phone's notifications and the time, but then it adds functionality that goes far beyond what's been done before.

Multiple infrared and visible light LEDs on the back of the watch work to detect a pulse rate, which then interact with Apple's own health and workout apps to create what Tim Cook calls a "comprehensive health and fitness device." Case in point is the new health app that tracks steps, heart rate and active calories, just for starters.

The other big smart watch innovation on the Apple Watch is actually quite small. In fact, it's the little rotating button on the side of the watch that also functions as a control that Apple calls the "digital crown." Turning the digital crown allows you to zoom in on photos or to scroll through selections like the scroll wheel in the center of a mouse. It's a novel but simple addition typical of Apple that now seems an obvious choice after seeing it in action.

Four rear sensors measure heart rate

The Apple Watch also gets that scratch-proof sapphire touch screen we've been hearing about for so long now. It will also be able to tell the difference between a quick tap and holding your finger down on the screen, which Apple calls a "force touch" and provides another means of controlling apps on the device.

"We’ve developed multiple technologies and an entirely new user interface specifically for a device that’s designed to be worn. It blurs the boundary between physical object and user interface,” said Jony Ive, Apple’s senior vice president of Design.

Apple also introduced something called "Glimpses" for the watch that are essentially the same as the cards that Android Wear users are familiar with that show useful information like location, weather and upcoming appointments. Siri is also accessible and the Apple Watch allows you to respond to texts via dictation.

The digital crown is a new smart watch interface

The latest text analysis in iOS also attempts to extract likely responses to incoming messages and then allows you to simply respond by choosing from a few pre-determined response options, something not available on Android Wear.

The Apple Watch goes way beyond what any early smartwatch can do by integrating Apple's new payment system, Apple Pay, basically allowing the watch to stand in for a wallet or credit card at hundreds of thousands of locations in the United States. Apple has also clearly done more legwork with developers to ensure that a useful array of apps will make use of the Apple Watch. It announced WatchKit, a package of tools and APIs for developers during the event.

The company has already announced that Starwood Hotels will allow guests to use their Apple Watch as a room key, and apps for Pinterest, Nike and many others are already in the works. One of the strangest features Apple touted is the ability of the watch to measure your heart rate and then share it with another watch wearer who can then feel that heartbeat as simulated by the Apple Watch's "Taptic Engine."

The workout app for the Apple Watch

Taptic feedback is basically just a word Apple has chosen to describe the watch's use of haptic feedback. Apple claims that its system is more advanced than just basic vibrations of your wrist, and that different types of taptic feedback can actually tell you which way to turn while navigating, simply by the type of buzz the watch gives your wrist. The Taptic Engine also works in tandem with a tiny speaker to provide an even broader selection of possible alerts.

The heart of the Apple Watch is what the company has dubbed the S1 SiP (System in Package) that sounds a lot like a miniaturized version of a system-on-a-chip. Also inside are magnets to work with the wireless inductive charging system, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 radios to connect to your iPhone.

And yes, the Apple Watch does require an iPhone, but any iPhone 5 and up will work, including the 5, 5S, 5C, and the new iPhone 6 or 6 Plus.

The watch's health app integrates with an iPhone

Staying with the theme of choice and being "truly personal," which was Tim Cook's mantra for the day, there will be two sizes and three different styles of Apple Watch. There's your basic Apple Watch with a choice of straps, Apple Watch Sport with a stronger silver anodized aluminum case and sport band, or Apple Watch Edition that introduces an 18-karat gold case and premium straps to the equation.

The Apple Watch will start at US$349. Now for the bad news: It won't be available until "early 2015."

So much for the perfect holiday gift. Stay tuned to Gizmag for news on the Apple Watch as it comes in.

View gallery - 23 images
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19 comments
Rann Xeroxx
The funny thing about this watch is that it has more in common with a Samsung watch then say the Moto 360. This has far more tech and engineering then the 360, more in tune with Gear but like Gear its just... meh.
I am going to wait till 2015 to see how things shake out but so far the Moto 360 seems to be the winner if nothing else then looks alone with is half the reason to wear a nice watch. And being $100 cheaper does not hurt.
John Findlay
I'm curious if this could be an aid for my type 1 diabetic daughter, there is a risk of coma and death during sleep and this watch could monitor her heart rate and alert a 2nd party if there is a problem.
HerrDrPantagruel
Other than the twisty crown thing - and how is that any better than simply swiping? - I don't really see what more this has going for it than other smart watches. Heart rate monitor? Sounds familiar. Haptic feedback? Phones have been vibrating for years. Plus the squarish styling is not winning any awards with me. I don't think Apple has answered the question of why you really need a smart watch, any better than anyone else has. It's very gadgety, it's one more device to keep charged every night, and its $350 I would much rather put towards something I could really use, like a better phone or tablet.
Also I used to admire the fact that Apple generally announced a product when it was ready for sale. By making people wait for months and months, the Androids and Pebbles etc now have something to shoot for. Samsung will probably have three more smart watches iterated by that time.
The fact is, Apple's best days occurred when other electronics companies were kind of asleep at the wheel. The iPod, iPhone, and iPad were issued when nobody else really had their act together. I don't think you can say that of Google and Samsung and LG and Motorola and Lenovo (not an exhaustive list.) By waiting so long they now kind of look like also rans.
tapasmonkey
Left-hander discriminating winder/crown thingy - hugely annoying.
Very poor design: totally agree with the"also-ran" comment above - sad to see Apple are losing it somewhat, as their previous excellence spurred other companies into raising their game massively.
Hopefully the resounding "meh" I'm hearing from the internet will nudge them in turn to raise their own game.
Daishi
I kind of like the watch design. The way they have the watch bands clip in is pretty cool and you can tell a lot of thought went into the watch bands themselves at a time when many companies have used the same basic watch band designs for as long as I can remember.
Whe wheel on the side also seems pretty smart because you don't have to try to pinch to zoom on a < 2 inch interface and you can still view the screen while you do.
I don't own anything Apple but I think they got a lot of things right with the watch.
tapasmonkey
Oops: left-hander wise, apparently it can flip the display for wearing on the other wrist, so I take that bit about right-hander bias back.
Alkabong
Are any of the watches water proof ?
Dave Cutler
Anybody read or know of if the watch is sweat/water-resistant, or better yet, waterproof?
Expanded Viewpoint
Yeah, the watches may be "smart" now, but the people wearing them are dumber than ever! Just look at the high incidence of women who have breast cancers develop right where they kept their cell phones in their bras when they were younger! Or men with testicular cancer from keeping an active cell phone in their front pockets! And I don't know how many pictures I've seen now of men and women who had part of their ear and scalp cut off from cancers which were caused by wearing Bluetooth devices. I actually stood behind a guy at Wally World who was missing about one fourth of his left ear lobe and had some SEVERE scar tissue on his scalp right there and no hair. It looked like someone had attacked him with a blow torch. And he was wearing a Bluetooth unit on his right side! Didn't he even get a clue from the first time around?? Wait a minute here now, this just might be a good way to get the gene pool filtered out a bit, if you believe that IQ is in any way related to DNA, that is to say. So maybe I shouldn't be quite so hasty in denouncing all of this RF radiation being beamed directly into a body. Let the ones who know better arrange their life so that they don't have to depend so much on something that is going to ruin their life or shorten it! I can just see the cancer rates and other illnesses for people who wear these things going out the roof.
Randy
moreover
@ Randy - I hope other readers recognize your allegations re breast and testicular cancer as rumors - no matter what you may have heard from Dr Oz.