In typical Apple fashion they casually added they had “one more thing,” thus announcing their newest product, the Apple Watch.
The Apple Watch offers fitness and communication features filling the emerging niche of wearable workout devices while also catering to those who want a smart watch. The Watch has an accelerometer for measuring steps and a heart rate sensor.
It has a retina touch screen which can differentiate between touches and presses allowing for simpler, touch friendly interface without sacrificing functionality. Because the nature of a touchscreen watch is that the touchscreen is small, the digital crown, which also acts as the home button, on the side of the watch allows for users to make precise inputs that the touchscreen would struggle to deliver. This makes tasks like setting an alarm and entering a specific time simple.
The button below the crown pulls users to a screen where they can quickly select friends to contact them via a phone call, text or alert them with a tap generated from the user’s own Apple Watch.
The device also serves as an always visible extension of the iPhone. Notifications appear from the iPhone on the Apple Watch with the option for the notifications to alert them by a small tap to one’s wrist created by the Watch’s Taptic Engine. One can answer phone calls and respond to texts with either predetermined responses based on the contents of the text or by dictating a reply from the Apple Watch without ever having to take out one’s phone. The device can simply serve as a notification screen if one prefers using an iPhone to do these tasks.
In addition to these features, the Apple Watch is charged wirelessly, includes Siri and apps like Photos and Maps, as well as fitness and workouts apps.
Variety and customizability is addressed as the watch comes in a variety of options such as the regular Watch, the Watch Edition made of 18k gold and the Watch Sport made to be light and durable. Sizes for each version include small (38mm) and large (42 mm).
The Apple Watch will be available early 2015 starting at $349.