Back in September, Apple officially unveiled its smartwatch line, simply called Apple Watch, but omitted some crucial details, leaving them to be answered at a later date.
Well, that date has finally arrived and now Apple has filled in some of the blanks at its March 9 media event in San Francisco.
The new details as of March 9:
Apple Watch Sport is composed of customized aluminum alloy. Comes in silver or Space Gray. Color bands are made of high-performance plastic. $349 for 38mm, $399 for 42mm sizes. In Australia the pricing runs AU$499 and AU$579 and that's £299 and £339 in the UK.
Apple Watch (steel case) starts at $549 (38mm) and goes up to $1,049, depending on band. 42mm is $50 more. In Australia the pricing starts at AU$799 and goes to AU$1,629 depending on the band. The UK starts at £479 and runs up to £949.
Apple Watch Edition (18-karat gold case) starts at $10,000, with options ranging all the way to $17,000. That's AU$14,000 to AU$24,000 and from £8,000 up to £13,500 over in the UK.
You can preorder all models starting April 10. Shipping April 24.
Global launch. Will be available in several countries, including UK, Australia, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany and France.
Communicates with iPhone over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Can be anywhere in house, not just in Bluetooth range.
iPhone will download apps for Watch via Apple Watch Store.
Designed it with "all-day battery life" across a range of uses. 18 hours in typical day.
You connect and Apple Watch to another Apple Watch (direct communication). Draw a sketch and have it pop onto friends' watch. Or tap to get friend attention. Or send your heart beat.
Who needs it?
When the iPad first debuted, many demeaned it as either a "big iPhone" or a keyboardless laptop, but it managed to stake out its own ground. The Apple Watch will enter the same skeptical marketplace, with an even harder case to make: if it's essentially a dedicated smartphone accessory, is it just a redundant gadget? A lot of people might wonder why they need it. Can the Apple Watch carve out some killer features that make sense to people? Or, is it mainly a fashion accessory with tech appeal? I think it could be at least a year or more before Apple Watch makes sense for most people. Stay tuned for more opinions after Apple's event.
