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Apple Watch: The Ultimate Guide
// Mac|Life - All Articles
After three years of top-secret development, Tim Cook finally revealed the Apple Watch (not "iWatch" as had been rumored) on September 9, 2014. The announcement contained a deluge of details; it seems the device was designed to do pretty much anything anyone at Apple could think of. So to help you keep track of it all — and to point you toward the more important features — we've put together this comprehensive quick-look guide. Check back often since we'll update it as new information comes to light.
Price and Availability
Apple Watch will launch sometime in early 2015. Pricing will start at $349 and ramp up for the more expensive models and bands.
iPhone Compatible
For many functions — including several of the most significant features — Apple Watch needs an iPhone to work (iPhone 5 or newer; non-Apple phones are a no-go). The watch doesn't come with its own data plan, so when Wi-Fi isn't an option, it piggybacks on an iPhone's Internet connection.
Customizable
Apple Watch is highly customizable, coming in various colors and materials with a wide variety of bands. All of these options are sorted into three collections: Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and Apple Edition (more on those below). The watch comes in two sizes, 38mm height and 42mm height, and can be set to work properly on either your left or right wrist.
Basic Usage
You can interact with Apple Watch in several ways. The watch face itself is a touch screen, but to avoid having to cover up such a small area with your finger, you can turn a side button called the Digital Crown to scroll through lists, zoom into maps, and more. The Digital Crown can also be pressed in, acting like a Home button of sorts. Just below it is the watch's only other button, which brings up a Friends menu from which you can quickly send a message, make a call, or communicate in unique new ways (see below).
The Digital Crown can be used to scroll or zoom. (Isn't that a pretty Home screen?)
New Touch Technology
Apple Watch incorporates two cool new types of technology that don't appear in any other Apple product. The first is a force-sensitive Retina display that lets the watch face distinguish between a tap and a press depending on how hard you push. In many apps, tapping and pressing do different things. Then there's a linear actuator called the Taptic Engine, which sounds cool and is cool. It allows you to experience feedback you feel, like taps on your wrist. The tech can produce different tactile sensations for different functions, and works in concert with subtle audio cues to alert you to notifications, incoming calls, messages, etc. These new technologies have spawned a few new cleaver, silly ways to communicate, such as Tap (send a tap to a fellow Apple Watch wearer's wrist), Sketch (share a quick doodle), Walkie Talkie (trade sound bites), and Heartbeat (since the watch reads your pulse, you can send it to someone else and they'll feel it on their wrist). That last one can be romantic or creepy depending on who you share with. In addition to all the other cool things Apple Watch can do, it also features Apple Pay and can be used at participating retail and online stores to buy stuff quickly and securely.
Force-sensitive Retina display on the top, Taptic sensors on the bottom.
New Ways to Communicate
Apple Watch will turn you into a social superstar with wrist-tapping real-time notifications for any messages, mail, or calls that come into your iPhone. These functions have custom interfaces designed to fit the small size of the watch face, to make using them fun and not frustrating — you can even use your finger to stretch and shape your own custom emoji. Apple Watch also features Siri, which can be used to dictate messages, view upcoming events, and search for places.
Battery Life
Apple hasn't yet commented on battery life, but it will likely require frequent charging. That's probably why the device comes with an inductive charging cable that quickly comes off and on using magnets, so you can slap it on without much of a hassle. (Unlike all of Apple's other mobile devices, Apple Watch won't use a Lightning cable.) The watch is smart about saving power, though — its screen stays off until you raise your arm to look at it.
And Hey, It Tells time!
Apple Watch is accurate to within 50 milliseconds of the global time standard, and will auto-adjust to local time when you travel, or when daylight savings time kicks in. It comes with multiple faces to choose from (developers will undoubtedly provide even more) that offer various different looks and features. Each one is customizable, allowing you to change colors and add extra features such as stopwatches, stock quotes, and weather updates. You can also access this kind of information by swiping up, a feature that Apple calls Glances. So far, our favorite faces are an animated butterfly that looks like it's landed on your wrist, a face that shows the phases of the moon and current placement of planets in the solar system, and the classic Mickey Mouse watch. You can also make a face out of any photo.
From quirky to classic, Apple provides fabulous watch faces to suit everyone's personal tastes.
Apple Watch Apps
Here are the apps Apple has so far announced; we're sure this is just the tip of the iceberg, especially now that third-party developers are starting work on their own offerings.
- Alarm
- Apple TV and iTunes: Control Apple TV or your iTunes library on a Mac or PC; listen to iTunes radio
- Calendar: Meeting reminders, calendar invitations
- Maps: Turn-by-turn navigation that is accompanied by varying wrist taps that hint at which way to go when walking
- Music: Can control music playback on an iPhone, or you can even leave your phone at home and listen to music while jogging
- Passbook: Works with Apple Pay
- Photos: Meant for a more personal collection of photos that you've checked as favorites
- Remote Camera: Works as a remote for your iPhone's iSight camera. You can set your phone down, stand in front of it, and use the watch display to frame the perfect photo.
- Siri: Dictate a message, find nearby locations, view your events, and more.
- Stocks
- Stopwatch: Digital, analog, or hybrid view; can show an average of your lap times on a graph.
- Timer
- Weather
- World Clock
Health and Fitness
Apple Watch is packed with fun, cool-looking diversions, but most of them are neat-but-not-neccessary duplications of iPhone features. Its health and fitness functions, however, go beyond what other devices can do. With its enhanced ability to read your body's movements and heart rate, the watch is better equipped than iPhone to track health-related data. These features shine in the Activity and Workout apps. The former uses colorful circles to measure three categories: Move (how many calories you've burned), Exercise (minutes of activity — a brisk walk counts), and Stand (how much you stand instead of sit). You're encouraged to fill as many circles as you can each day to stay active. The Workout app is for dedicated cardio exercise, tracking stats such as time, pace, distance, and calories. The app will learn your routines and suggest fitness goals, and will help you set reminders. Working out unlocks achievements, which are badges to commemorate your accomplishments. Using the companion iPhone app, you can follow your progress in detail over time.
The functionality of the Activity and Workout apps may be the defining features of the Apple Watch.
Apple Watch Collections
There are three different types of Apple Watch, each of which comes in different materials and has its own set of optional bands in unique colors. Every set of watch and compatible bands is referred to as a collection. Apple Watch is the standard collection, which will likely be the biggest seller. It comes in 316L stainless steel and space black stainless steel cases, and its display is protected by scratch-resistant sapphire crystal. This line is compatible with the widest variety of bands. Apple Watch Sport comes in silver or space gray anodized aluminum that is 30% lighter than the stainless steel models. Its display is protected by strengthened Ion-X glass, and this watch only works with the Sport band. Apple Watch Edition appears to be for high rollers, coming in yellow gold or rose gold — both are 18-karat, and are said to be twice as hard as standard gold. Its display features the same sapphire crystal protection as the standard Apple Watch.
From left to right: Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and Apple Watch Edition.
Band Types
- Link Bracelet (Apple Watch): A classy look; would go well with a suit and tie.
- Sport Band (Apple Watch, Apple Watch Edition, Apple Watch Sport): Made from high-performance fluoroelastomer; durable, but soft and light; more flexible than most rubber watch bands; pin-and-tuck closure.
- Leather Loop (Apple Watch): Leather; one end of the band loops through the other and back again, locking in place upon itself with magnets concealed within the quilted leather.
- Milanese Loop (Apple Watch): Loops back around and holds against itself with a magnet
- Modern Buckle (Apple Watch, Apple Watch Edition): Leather
- Classic Buckle (Apple Watch, Apple Watch Edition): Leather; exactly what you'd expect from a traditional watch band. Classy.
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