Its Coming! The lavishly launched and one of the most anticipated Smartwatches the "Apple Watch " has made the Apple fans go crazy for the news of its release date which the Cupertino based company said will release in early 2015. Keeping in mind that Apple released the SDK for its watch called "WatchKit" last year so that developers can start making the apps compatible with the Apple Watch, it seems that the Tim Cook led tech giant is prepping to load the watch brimming with features for its hugely anticipated SmartWatch
The Question remains that what exactly is the watch going to do or what are its features or what are its specs and why is it so much hyped than the other SmartWatches. Here is everything we know currently about the watch.
Some Of The Basic Things About The Apple Watch
The Operating System
It will of course run on iOS but as the rumors suggest its UI will be much simpler than the iPhone.
It will be connected to the iPhone via in-built Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy to run make calls or run the web services the user wishes but only with the compatible iPhone(Currently being iPhone 5 and up which run on iOS 8) and to run the apps in a full native Watch you will have to wait another year
Display
Its screen resolution will be 240 x 272 for the 38mm watch and 390 x 312 for the 42mm model and Apple has said that the display content will be the same for both the watches. The watch will be scratch resistant as it has the Sapphire coating on the screen and for the Sport Edition it will have the Ion-X Glass which is strengthened. The watch is water resistant but not fully waterproof so basically it will be able to resist sweat or little bit of water.
Processor
The Apple Watch will run on the new S1 processor which is a custom chip made by Apple. It is being said that this custom chip has many features in its subsystems that will ensure durability for the watch.
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Charging
Apple uses Inductive Charging. The MagSafe technology it uses to charge the watch has no exposure or alignment because it is completely sealed. The MagSafe technology will allow you to hold the connector at the back of the watch and the magnets will snap into place automatically.
The 3 Editions
There are Three Editions of the watch and the First is called the "Apple Watch" and is made from alloy of stainless steel. The Second Edition is the "Sport Edition" which will be made from anodized aluminum and according to what Apple said this edition will be about 60% stronger. The Third Edition is the "Gold Edition" and will be made from pure 18 Karat Gold. There are 6 Types of Straps which are interchangeable and those are Sport Band, Leather Loop, Classic Buckle, Modern Buckle , Milanese Loop and Link Bracelet.
The Questions Regarding The Watch
How Much Will The Apple Watch Cost?
The Apple Watch is much costlier as it starts at $349(Moto 360 costs $250 and the Samsung Gear Live costs $199.99) which is rumored to be for the Sport Edition while the Stainless Steel Edition is rumored to be priced at $500 and the Gold Edition will be priced at sky rocketing $5000.
Has The Production Even Begun?
Yes. The mass production for this watch begun early this year at Quanta and the initial round of watches will be around 3-5 Million watches.
When Will It Be Available?
As the rumors suggest, the watch will be released in the beginning of March this year and Apple is going to give watches to its employees for testing in Mid-February.
How Will The Watch Work?
In addition to the touch,tap and navigating through the screen feature, Apple has introduced a new feature known as the "Digital Crown". Digital Crown is the knob on the right side of the watch which will help the users through the options and it also works as the new Home Button. When pressed, the Watch will return to the Home Screen. You can also use it to zoom in or zoom out of the screen. Apple has placed a dedicated button near the Digital Crown which will help you contact your friends from the Watch itself.
We all know about swiping and navigating around the screen in the watch but there is an innovative method of input known as the "Force Touch" which will, depending on how hard the screen is being pressed register your input and trigger a right click or long tap like action.
Due to recent round of leaks that have been going on we have been able to find a new way about what the watch can do. The Companion App in the watch will be the main method for managing the watch as it will help you customize your screen,setting voice dictation or even set the audio replies as the default way to reply to the messages. User will also be able to manage fitness through the Companion App. There will be Stand reminders which will doing exercises will nudge if the user has been sitting too long.
In the Security Department, Apple lets you unlock the watch through the iPhone and will pop up a Four Digit passcode for this watch. That PIN will also be able to perform and authorize the Apple Pay transactions. If there are more than 10 incorrect password attempts, Apple Watch will wipe itself.
What Is It Going To Do?
Other than showing time,stocks,weather updates or functioning as the stopwatch, the apple watch is going to do tons of new features
Apple Pay
This is by far one of the best and most innovative technology introduced by Apple to the world. The NFC enabled chip will let users have one-tap payment via the Apple Pay. This technology will bring Digital Wallet to the non NFC phones like the ones of iPhone 5 and 5s and the users who want to make the most of Digital Wallet will be able to do so.
Apple Pay is integrated with thousands of stores like Subway, McDonald's and Walgreen's. The full list of the merchants who have integrated with Apple Pay will be found at bottom of Apple Pay's page.
Home Screen Layout
There will be a virtual app in the iPhone which will enable users to change the layouts in the screen
Fitness
There is an in built heart monitor and accelerometer with which the Watch will help track your calories burned and your workout intensity. The Watch will need to be connected to GPS in order to find data like distance travelled as well the pace.
The Workout app will help to intensify the fitness programs and also help set the goals and track real-time stats. In order to share the stats to third party apps on the iPhone, the Watch will send tracked data to the Health app in your iPhone.
Apps, Actionable Notifications and Glances
The Three main goals that the watch will deliver are Apps, Actionable Notifications And Glances. Apps on this Watch will simply be the counterparts of the apps that are there in your iPhone. Apple announced last year that the developers in the next year will be able to create apps just for the Watch meaning that they will not need configuration wit the iPhone and will be standalone device.
Actionable Notifications are the alerts that are set by the apps predefined in your iPhone meaning that you will be able to perform some actions without opening the app.
Glances are the simple alerts and reminders for the Watch.
Digital Touch
This feature will allow the users to share the sketches doodled on the screen or share the heartbeats.
The Receiver will be buzzed when he gets your pulse. There is also a Walkie-Talkie feature that will help the user share sound clips with friends and Tap will send gentle vibrations to your friends when you tap on their contact in your Watch.
How Much Watches Will Apple Be Able To Sell?
Estimates say around 10-40 Million Apple Watches will be sold in 2015 but it is an extreme and rumored figure.
What Is The Market For The Watch?
Outside from Apple idealists very few people who would want a premium hands might opt for the watch but with Android Wearables like the Moto 360 which is more cheap and offers great functionality at much less price will offer commendable competition to the Apple Watch.
Apple Watch vs Android Wear
With almost all major brands like Samsung, Motorola, Sony, LG and Asus coming into wearable technology, Apple has stiff competition as the Android Wearable watches range between $150-250 and will be a big blow to the Apple Watch in terms of pricing and also the Android Wear has many positive points like camera, voice search optimization and a large selection of apps which Apple lacks currently.
While Apple's Watch is not publicly out, it promises to have great performance and functionality and with Apple Pay integrated, Android Wear is going to have to gear up a little as it a revolutionizing technology offered by Apple.