The first wearable device developed by Apple Inc. had been unveiled during the tech giant's Keynote Conference Launch in California last Sept. 9, and the device is now officially dubbed as the Apple Watch.
Initially rumored as the Apple iWatch, it is the brand's first attempt in jumping into the smartwatch bandwagon.
Apple's Senior Vice President of Design Jony Ive said that it was a challenge to come up with this device. "It's probably one of the most difficult projects I have ever worked on," he shared. Though other gadget makers like Samsung and Motorola had already released their own smartwatches earlier, Ive said that Apple had been thinking about the technology three years ago, after the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs.
The Apple Watch will be offered in a stainless steel or space black stainless steel casing, either with a sapphire crystal screen (Watch and Watch Edition) or a strengthened ion-X glass (Watch Sport), which features long-lasting band options. In addition, the Apple Watch will come in a 38mm size for women, while the men's watches will be 42mm big.
It will also have a retina touchscreen Retina display as well as a special S1 SiP chip and a built-in GPS. The smartwatch will feature a custom Digital Crown home button and will come with Bluetooth 4.0. Added features include a built-in heart rate sensor, an accelerometer, as well as a MagSafe wireless charging capacity.
Apple Watch will be compatible with the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which are set to be released on Sept. 19, as well as the earlier versions of the smartphone like the iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, and iPhone 5s.
There are speculations that Apple Watch will be priced at around $350, but one Apple observer named John Gruber estimates that the gold edition of the wearable device could reach the $4,999 mark.
"I think Apple Watch prices are going to be shockingly high – gasp-inducingly, get-me-to-the-fainting-couch high – from the perspective of the tech industry. But at the same time, there is room for them to be disruptively low from the perspective of the traditional watch and jewelry world," the Apple observer said.
The release date for Apple Watch is set sometime in early 2015.
