Apple’s New Smart Watch Soon To Be Released
By Christopher Pangolos, Florida Tech // February 25, 2015
The apple watch will start at $349
ABOVE VIDEO: The above video is the official Apple Watch trailer. According to Apple, it will feature several new technologies, such as inductive charging and a heart rate sensor.
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Back in September, Apple announced their entry into the smartwatch world with their own Apple Watch.
The watch is expected to be released this April.
According to Apple, it will feature several new technologies, such as inductive charging and a heart rate sensor.
Like smart phones, smartwatches have their own mobile operating systems and support the installation of multi-purpose apps for gaming, documents and more.
Unfortunately, they tend to be more limited due to their size and hardware, but there’s still a fair amount of room for customization.
According to Digital Trends, one Android watch owner was able to use a DOS emulator to install Windows 95 and run Doom on their watch.
According to Cnet, Apple has already released a software development kit allowing developers to start making Apple Watch apps before its release.
Currently, the smartwatch market is primarily dominated by Samsung and Pebble, with Android and iOS being the main operating systems.
Due to the popularity of Apple’s mobile devices, many, including Cnet and the Washington Post, have called the Apple Watch one of the most anticipated products of the year.
According to Apple, the watch will include their usual mobile device features, such as a music player, weather reports, maps using Siri, and a calendar/organizer.
The user will navigate via a new touch screen called Force Touch which can distinguish between light and hard presses and provide appropriate responses for each.
The wheel on the side of the watch will allow the user to scroll or zoom and, if pressed, return to the home menu.
The Apple Watch will charge via inductive charging without any exposed contacts.
The charger makes use of a small disk attached to the cord which snaps onto the back of the watch using a magnet.
The watch has a few helpful features for health-conscious users, including a sensor on the back that uses lights and photodiodes to detect heart rate, as well as an accelerometer to detect movement.
One of the main features/requirements of the Apple Watch is connecting to the user’s iPhone.
When connected, the watch will give notifications for emails, messages and calls, allowing the user to answer or ignore.
On the downside, the watch doesn’t have its own GPS or Wi-fi, making it completely dependent on the user’s phone.
Those without an iPhone or not carrying it at the time would see significantly reduced functionality.
Apple itself lists an iPhone 5 or iPhone 6 with iOS 8 as a requirement.
Users can receive notifications via the watch’s “Taptic Engine,” which produces different types of taps to the user’s wrist based on the action.
According to Apple, this feature also “enables some entirely new, intimate ways for you to communicate with other Apple Watch wearers” allowing users to send their taps to others.
Apple indicates you can also use this feature to send others your heartbeat, opening up interesting opportunities to couples or people trying to be creepy.
According to Apple, the watch is offered in stainless steel, silver anodised aluminum, or 18-karat gold casings.
The watch will start at $349 for the cheapest casing and go up from there.
Overall, the watch has some interesting features, but keep in mind, it won’t be very useful unless you have an iPhone with you, which makes many of the features redundant anyway.
