Introduction to Apple Watch
- Apple Watch Offers a Plethora of Options
- The Standard "Apple Watch" Model
- "Apple Watch Sport" is for People With a More Active Lifestyle
- "Apple Watch Edition" Caters to Those Who Prefer Wearing a Luxury Timepiece on Their Wrist
- All Apple Watch Models are Fully Customizable
- The Watch's Various Sensors Allow It to Collect and Share Information
- Apple Watch Will Support Apple Pay
- Final Thoughts?
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For years, rumors and speculation about Apple Watch have circulated, yet Apple’s focus when it comes to mobile devices has until recently been on iPods, iPhones, and iPads. Now that the company dominates all of these consumer technology categories, it’s poised to change the way the world tells time, communicates, and manages information directly from their wrists.
While Apple Watch will tell time and handle other tasks on its own, as a stand alone piece of wearable technology that’s both fashionable and highly functional, its true potential comes from its ability to communicate wirelessly with the iPhone. Using the iPhone as a conduit, Apple Watch will be able to access the Internet to send and retrieve data, content, and information.
At the same time, the watch will be able to continuously monitor the person wearing it, and gather information about activity and movement, which can ultimately be used to improve the wearer’s overall health, fitness, and well-being.
Apple Watch was announced during Apple’s press conference on September 9, 2014. Details about this piece of wearable technology were then immediately featured on Apple’s website (shown in Figure 1).
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Figure 1 Apple has begun promoting the Apple Watch on its website, but you’ll need to wait until early 2015 to purchase one.
Apple Watch Offers a Plethora of Options
Upon its release in early 2015, Apple Watch will be available in three different versions – Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and Apple Watch Edition (shown in Figure 2). It’s important to understand that while each version of the Apple Watch is constructed from different materials that determine its appearance and durability, all versions of the watch operate exactly the same.
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Figure 2 Apple Watch will come in three distinct versions, but the technology within each watch is identical.
The functionality of the Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and Apple Watch Edition is the same, and the watches will all utilize apps in the same way. The starting price for this wearable technology will be $349.00. Each unisex Apple Watch model will be available in two case sizes (38mm and 42mm). The option you choose is a matter of personal preference, but one that impacts the size of the watch’s built in Retina Multi-Touch display.
The other core technologies built into all the Apple Watch versions, including the proprietary Apple S1 processor chip, multifunction digital crown, and the Taptic Engine, are identical.
The proprietary Taptic Engine that’s built into all of the Apple Watch models, for example, enables the watch to provide the wearer with physical feedback that feels like a light tap on the wrist. This is in addition to a wide range of visual and audio feedback that’s possible.
Ultimately, this Taptic Engine will be utilized by app developers in a variety of different ways, as will the watch’s built-in heart rate monitor and accelerometer. The watch will also be able to utilize your iPhone’s GPS and Location Services functionality to keep tabs on your exact location, for example, and utilize that information as it’s needed.