What To Expect From The Apple Watch—The Good, The Bad And The Unknown
How Apple's new gadget might, or might not, change your life.
On Monday, all eyes are going to be on the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, where Apple is set to reveal more about its long-awaited Apple Watch. We're expecting the Cupertino company to tell us everything we need to know about its smartwatch, including how much each model will cost and when, exactly, it will ship.
Here's what you can expect when Apple Watch finally gets in the hands—and on the wrists—of consumers.
The Basics, With A Twist
On paper, at least, a lot of what the Apple Watch offers has appeared elsewhere in the nascent smartwatch market. It's a touchscreen-based wearable, packed with sensors, that has to be tethered to a companion smartphone. You can control it with your voice (via Siri). It will ping you with notifications from popular apps, can vibrate to get your attention and will sense your movements and surroundings and act accordingly—for instance, by turning on when you raise your wrist.
Any kind of app where speed, portability and brevity are important should shine on Apple Watch, but for everything else you'll be more likely to stick with your smartphone. The appeal of a wearable is exactly that: it's designed to be worn, not carried around in a bag or a pocket. The difference between waving your wrist and digging a phone out of a jacket might not seem like a huge one, but it can make a real difference when you're carting luggage down a hotel hallway or standing in line for a coffee.
It's tempting to see Apple Watch as a standard bearer for all smartwatches, an example of how useful a device like this can be, as long everything is done right. In a month or two's time, we'll have a much better idea about whether it's succeeded.