New Apple Watch:New Features, Prices Revealed
Apple revealed the final mysterious
details about its new Watch at an event on Monday.
It will be available for pre-order
on April 10th, and will go on sale in stores on April 24th. The watch will come
in three varieties, Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch, and the opulent — and
insanely expensive — Apple Watch Edition.
Each watch will also be available in
two sizes with a 38mm model made for those who are small of wrist, and a 42mm
model for folks with larger wrists. Most Android Wear watches are only
available in a single size and have been criticized for being too large for
those will thinner wrists.
During a stage demo for the Watch,
Apple’s Kevin Lynch offered up a variety of use cases for the Apple Watch.
He received a phone call, sent a picture he drew on the watch to his wife, and
replied to a message from a friend using the Chinese app WeChat,a big shout out
to Apple’s Chinese users.
There was more to offer than quick
notifications and messages, though. At one point, Lynch showed how he could
access the Alarm.com app from the Apple Watch to check to see if the doors to
his house were locked. He was also able open his garage door, and stream video
from a camera to see his daughter walk into his house.
In terms of fitness features, the
Apple Watch will be able to measure your heart rate (something that was
announced at the watch’s debut in Sept. 2014) as well as notify you when you’ve
been sitting for too long and nudge you to walk around for a bit. (Both of
these features are available on competing smart watches and fitness trackers.)
Model Christy Turlington Burns also
showed off how the watch has is helping her train for the upcoming Virgin Money
London Marathon.
Instagrammers will also be able to
use the Apple Watch to scroll through their friends’ feeds and like photos.
Uber will also be available for the Apple Watch, allowing you to request a
vehicle and see who your driver is.
Two of the Apple Watch’s killer
features are its ability to use the Apple Pay mobile wallet app and use the
watch as your room key at participating Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
To use Apple Pay with the Apple
Watch, you simply double-tap a button on the watch’s side and hold the watch up
to a payment terminal. You’ll then hear a quick tone and feel the watch vibrate
when your payment is received.
As for using the watch as a room
key, Apple’s Lynch explained that the timepiece will automatically detect when
you are near your hotel and provide you with information including your
check-in and check-out dates, and your room number. When you get to your room,
you hold the watch up to your door and tap a button on the watch’s screen the
lock will open.
Apple also tried to allay concerns
regarding the Apple Watch’s battery, saying that the watch should last up to
18-hours on a single charge. That’s a bold claim, and likely depends on how
much you use the watch, and for what. If you’re using it to check the news and
sports scores all day, chances are it won’t last as long as Apple says.
So how much does the Apple Watch
cost? Well, a 38mm version of the Apple Watch Sport, the least expensive of the
bunch, costs $349, while the larger 42mm Sport costs $399. That watch features
an aluminum body and rubber band.
Move up to the stainless steel Apple
Watch, and you’ll pay $549 for a 38mm model and $599 for a 42mm model.
Here’s where it gets a little nutty.
A 38mm version of the Apple Watch Edition with its rose gold case will costs
you the princely sum of $10,000. Move up to the 38mm 18-karat gold Watch
Edition, and you’ll pay $17,000. Yes, $17K for a smart watch. There are also
versions in between that cost $12,000 and $15,000.
Want to get the Apple Watch as soon
as possible? You can pre-order it through Apple’s website starting on April
10th. Want to buy the watch in person? Then you’ll want to head to your local
Apple Store on April 24th
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