Apple Event Roundup: Apple Watch, New MacBook

Cook then returned to the stage to discuss the Apple Watch, calling it “the most advanced time piece ever created” and a “revolutionary method to connect to others”. The Apple Watch was touted as the most accurate watch ever made. It has many different faces which are supposed to reflect your personality (Mickey Mouse fans will love it!) You can add details and features to the face of the watch you choose.

The Apple Watch has a new feature called Glances. It can allow you to control your music and lots of other apps. Apple Watch also allows you to communicate with messages and with the speaker and microphone you can make and receive calls on the device. Tim Cook then joked that he was waiting to do this since he was five years old!

The Digital Touch feature meanwhile allows you to draw pictures, tap to gain your friends’ attention or send your heartbeat (interestingly).

The Apple Watch is also a comprehensive health and fitness companion. It tracks your daily movement, how long you are exercising or getting some brisk activity for as well. It can show your exercise data based on calorie estimates, and also how much you’re sitting. The device displays this in a three-ring chart.

The Keynote event then showcased a video of Christy Turlington Burns running a half marathon in Africa and showed her raising awareness for Every Mother Counts. Cook then went onto inform people about other features of the new wearable.  You can use Apple Watch with Siri, just by using your voice and you can receive any notification that you can receive on your iPhone directly to your Apple Watch.

Next, Kevin Lynch took to the stage. Apple Watch will give you notifications just as you receive on iPhone. The watch also supports a wide variation of apps from Passbook to Uber. The new watch also allows the wearer to pay for goods using Apple Pay. When using the Apple Watch, and are near a payment terminal, the Apple Pay app opens automatically to aid payment; all you need to do is tap the watch to the terminal. Lynch then went on to explain about the device making and receiving phone calls. These can be sent and received on WiFi as well as a cellular network.

When Cook returned to the stage he informed everyone that the iPhone will be able to download apps for Apple Watch starting immediately. Cook then spoke of the Apple Watch having a battery life of 18 hours. 

The Apple Watch Sport will start at $349 for the 38mm and $50 more for the 42mm model. There’s a choice of three different leather bands, a link bracelet, a Milanese loop, and a band made from high-performance fluoroelastomer.

Next there was a video voiced by Jonny Ive discussing the stainless steel customisation process for the watch. The new stainless steel that Apple uses is forged in a cold-forging process, which makes the metal up to 80% harder, less prone to nicks and scratches. There is also a diamond-like carbon layer that has been added for the space black model.

Finally, Cook announced the special edition of the Apple Watch, called Apple Watch Edition. The gold watch is available in 18-karat yellow gold or 18-karat rose gold and limited quantities of Apple Watch Edition are available at selected retail stores; the Apple Watch Edition will cost $10,000 and is available from April 24, but pre-orders available from April 10th.

To sum up; we have reduction in price of Apple TV, a new ultra thin Mac with a new trackpad and keyboard, and the Apple Watch. Not too bad for this year, not too bad at all.

Next on the Apple list is WWDC on the 8-12 June. Personally I can’t wait.

[images via bloomberg, Macworld]

SOURCE: Apple