Apple Watch Overview Updated September 26, 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:
1,142 Apple Watch stories
November 2013 - September 2016
Apple Watch Stories Yesterday
AAPL: 112.88
Today we’re taking a look at the new Apple Watch Edition. This year, Apple switched it up and ditched the all gold models in favor of ceramic. Why ceramic you might ask? Well first off, it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than solid gold, but it’s also four times stronger than stainless steel, which makes it the most scratch resistant Apple Watch available…
Apple has said many times that it sees medical and health initiatives as a big area for expansion in the future. Some of these plans are now actively being developed, according to Bloomberg. Firstly, Apple is working on new sleep tracking and fitness apps for Apple Watch that take advantage of the heart rate sensor for insight.
Apple is yet to offer sleep analysis of any kind in its wearable and its current Heart Rate app in watchOS 3 is very limited. The report says the new heart rate app will be more advanced, measuring a person’s fitness by observing the amount of time it takes for a heartbeat to fall from a peak to resting rate. The company is also apparently exploring ways to dramatically expand the functionality of HealthKit and the Health app …
Apple Watch Stories September 23
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).
