Apple Watch Overview Updated September 23, 2016
Apple’s first entry into the wearable market is Apple Watch ($349 and up), a smartwatch that pairs with the iPhone and sports an all-new user interface. Users can choose between numerous watch faces that will display whenever the watch is lifted upwards for viewing, access a Home screen full of apps, and see notifications pushed from the iPhone. 38mm and 42mm versions are available to accommodate different wrist sizes, the latter at higher prices.
A traditional watch dial on the side of the device has been repurposed as a Digital Crown, allowing you to scroll, zoom, and navigate through apps without covering the display. Light and heavy “Force Touch” inputs are sensed by the Retina display, and the Watch includes haptic feedback capabilities via a “Taptic Engine.” An inductive wireless charging solution based on MagSafe will recharge the watch every night.
The Apple Watch is designed to interact with an iPhone, running light apps that depend upon the iPhone for data, as well as playing standalone content stored on the Watch itself. For instance, you can play back music from a small on-Watch library, favorite iCloud-stored photos to make them available to view on the Apple Watch, and access the iPhone’s GPS for Watch screen navigation. Navigation includes walking directions that use haptic feedback to notify users for turn-by-turn directions.
Apple Watch includes a collection of sensors that can measure your pulse and other health data, plus fitness apps that can share data with the Health app in iOS 8. Also, the haptic feedback and biometric sensors allow for interesting new messaging features that let users tap and draw to communicate; users can record and send their heartbeats to one another.
There are three families to choose from: Apple Watch Sport ($349-$399), Apple Watch ($549-$1,099), and Apple Watch Edition ($10,000-$17,000). Apple Watch Sport models are made from aluminum, glass, and plastic, lower-priced models designed both for athletic and daily use. The step-up Apple Watch is made from stainless steel and sapphire, with plastic, leather or steel bands, varied in suitability and fashion to suit different daily, evening, and athletic purposes. Last but not least, Apple Watch Edition features 18k gold, sapphire, and a choice of plastic or leather bands with gold accents. Each Apple Watch works with the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, and iPhone 5.
Check out many of our top stories on the Apple Watch below:
1,140 Apple Watch stories
November 2013 - September 2016
Apple Watch Stories Yesterday
AAPL: 112.71
Following preorders going live on September 9 and an initial launch in 28 countries on September 16, Apple’s new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus today launch in an additional 30 countries around the world.
Apple is also launching its new Apple Watch Series 2, Apple Watch Edition, and updated Series 1 models in 20 additional countries today as its new special edition Apple Watch Hermès models become available for the first time.
Apple used the word ‘courage’ recently to describe its decision to remove the headphone socket from the iPhone 7, and much fun was poked at the company by those who missed the reference. But what I personally found far more courageous was Apple effectively admitting that it got the original Apple Watch user-interface badly wrong, and completely revamping it in watchOS 3.
Glances never worked. They were supposed to be a fast way to see information from your favorite apps, and to go on to quickly open those apps when required. In reality, neither objective was achieved: data was slow to load, and so were the apps.
And the side-button for immediate access to contacts was simply the waste of a button. Using the Watch Dick Tracy-style for phone calls was never more than a novelty, and sending scribbles and the like to contacts was even more of a gimmick.
So Apple had the courage to abandon both. Glances are gone, replaced by the app Dock, and the side button has been repurposed to access it. These two changes have transformed my use of my Watch …
Apple Watch Stories September 22
AAPL: 114.62
Apple is known to be notoriously bad at social — look no further than Ping, a social feature embedded in iTunes that Tim Cook killed because no one used it. That’s fine for the most part because Apple makes the platform (iOS) where the best social network apps (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.) exist and people continue buying iPhones.
Apple isn’t completely socially awkward either. Music lets you tweet and post playlists, Photos lets you share Photo Streams with contacts and on the web, and iOS share sheets facilitate the majority of my social sharing. It’s Apple’s new Activity Sharing feature that I’ve been enjoying the most since iOS 10 and watchOS 3 were introduced.
Activity Sharing lets you automatically share fitness data captured from the Apple Watch with other Apple Watch wearers. Adding a social aspect to activity tracking is especially motivational for staying active and shows Apple doing social right (even if Activity Sharing has opportunities to improve).
Apple Watch Stories September 21
AAPL: 113.55
Kantar reports that Apple has retained its dominance of the smartwatch sector, even as overall growth has started to slow. The data is based on sales as of July of this year, so pre-dating the launch of the Apple Watch Series 2.
Apple continues to dominate this segment with a 33.5% share, although that lead shrank slightly in the last three months as the market awaited the Apple Watch Series 2 announcement. The EU4 countries show a similar trend, with […] Apple leading at 31.8%.
The company says that the Apple Watch Series 2 seems ideally placed to appeal to those intending to purchase a wearable within the next 12 months, offering the two key features they are seeking …
Apple Watch Stories September 19
AAPL: 113.58
Apple Watch Series 2 hit stores on Friday and I’ve spent the weekend testing its new features. From outdoor cycling and swimming in the ocean to comparing it to the first-generation Apple Watch, I had my own list of questions I wanted answered and I’m mostly happy with my experience.
I used the first-generation Apple Watch every single day since April 2015 and reviewed it in May 2015 after a couple of weeks. For me, the original Apple Watch was a tremendous improvement over my Pebble and basic digital watch with features like Siri, iMessage and Apple Pay plus a design that was good enough to continue with Series 2. A year in, I fully realized how effective Apple Watch can be as a fitness tracker which is where much of the focus on Series 2 exists.
Apple Watch Series 2 is similar enough that it’s easy to draw several conclusions about the new version after just two days. It’s a more capable fitness tracker and a better smartwatch thanks to its hardware changes, but the differences are more nuanced than what a spec sheet can tell you.
I’ll start by jumping straight to my conclusion: expand full story
