We may have been waiting for the iWatch and finally saw the Watch Apple Watch, but with the exception of the device name, the announcement of Apple's smartwatch was the "One More Thing που" we all expected.
Available in 3 versions (Simple, Sport, Edition in 18K gold), in 2 sizes (men, women) and with a number of options in straps (from plastic to leather and aluminum) the Apple watch is the smartwatch that comes from Cupertino with the aim to change the data in its category.
Apple tried not to fall into the trap of competition and made sure that the software and hardware are made and optimized for the purpose for which they will be used, avoiding the easy solution of transferring junk material from smartphones. Both the S1, the custom-designed chip that is the heart of the Apple watch, and the watch operating system (Watch OS) were designed and developed exclusively for the smartwatch.
The touchscreen screen of the Apple watch is accompanied by a mechanical rotor on the right side of the device which is upgraded to the digital age and leaves behind the role it had as a "tuner" in the classic watches. The digital crown, as Apple calls it, now plays the role of an auxiliary controller with zoom-in zoom-out capabilities, scroll through lists, but also return to the home screen, such as the iPhone Home button. The existence of the digital crown is not accidental as Apple wanted to reduce as much as possible the interface with the screen as every unnecessary touch essentially hides the screen behind the user's finger.
So what is an Apple watch? A smartwatch with a host of features, some of which are:
Show important updates.
Show important notifications such as calls, SMS, email etc. and ability to answer.
Siri voice support.
Notification via tactile feedback. The Taptic Engine implemented by Apple takes care to notify you of any updates through a gentle pulse on your wrist.
Light sensors on the back of the Apple watch come in contact with the user's skin and collect biometric data such as heart rate measurements. In conjunction with the accelerometer, the iPhone's GPS and Wi-Fi record every physical activity.
Ability to communicate directly and interactive "games" with your friends. Use the Walkie-Talkie function for direct communication between 2 Apple watches, draw something on the screen of the Apple watch and your friend will see it on the screen of his Apple watch, tap and he will feel a pulse on his wrist (like his Poke Facebook), send your pulse to a friend etc.
Built-in "Activity" application that graphically presents the biometric data recorded by the Apple watch and related to the calories you burned, the minutes of exercise and the minutes of immobility.
Built-in "Workout" application which presents useful information during your exercise, such as running pace, calories you burn, distance traveled, etc. Includes goal setting, updates and alerts as well as rewarding badges for achieving the goals you set.
Of course, all this data is automatically transferred to the iPhone where through the Health application you have your complete history.
Apple Watch supports the new Apple Pay electronic payment service.
The applications that are pre-installed are the following:
Activity
Workout
Calendar
Maps
passbook
Music
Apple TV & iTunes
Remote Camera
Stopwatch
timer
Alarm
World Clock
Stocks
Weather
Photos
Crab
Settings
However, apart from the pre-installed applications, users will be able to install 3rd party applications through the App store. Developers have already been given access to WatchKit, the new API for interactive notifications, notifications and application development. In fact, in the presentation we saw some examples of using the API from Twitter and Facebook.
The Apple Watch supports the "Hand-off" function. So you can start reading an email on the watch, for example, and because it is too big and inconvenient, you can continue reading from the iPhone, from the point where you stopped. You can read more about the Hand-off function here.
The Apple watch magnetic induction charger has its roots in Macbook Mag safe.
The Apple Watch will be available in early 2015, starting at $ 349 for the cheaper model, and will be compatible with the following devices:
iPhone 6
6 iPhone Plus
iPhone 5S
iPhone 5C
iPhone 5
At the presentation of the Apple Watch, we had the opportunity to get a first taste of the Apple smartwach, which will not be released until 2015, however, there are many questions about its capabilities. So we expect more information from Apple in due course.