Everything You Need to Know About Apple's Watch Event
So your invitation to the Apple Spring Forward event got lost in the mail and you were too busy having a life to tune into the livestream? Not to worry. Here’s what you missed.
The Apple Watch
First announced last September, the Apple Watch was finally revealed in full, with Apple CEO Tim Cook offering details on models, pricing, and the apps that will run on your wrist.
(Apple)
The Watch will be available in three editions. The standard Apple Watch ($550+) will feature a stainless steel case or in traditional or space black, and come in two sizes. The Watch Sport ($350+) will be made from a lighter anodized aluminum in silver or space gray. The Apple Watch Edition (pictured above) is made from 18-karat gold and starts at a whopping $10,000 and can run up to $17,000.
Cook demonstrated many of the features shown at last September’s unveiling, including the ability to swipe the watchface to see your calendar, music, and heart rate, or employ its “Taptic” engine to literally tap out messages to loved ones who are also wearing an Apple Watch. You can also receive calls via the watch without having to take your iPhone out of your pocket.
The Watch will have its own app store, featuring a passel of Watch-centric software that lets you view maps, get sports scores, call an Uber from your wrist, open your garage door, and more. The Watch will be available starting on April 24, or for pre-order on April 10th.
The New MacBook
Apple also unveiled a major redesign of its flagship notebook, the MacBook. The new 2-pound, .5-inch-thick MacBook is 24 percent thinner than the current version and claims a battery life of up to 10 hours. It will also feature a new touchpad design that responds differently depending on how much pressure you apply, as well as a thinner keyboard.
The new $1299+ MacBook will be available on April 10 in silver, space gray, or gold versions.
HBO Now on Apple iDevices
HBO’s long rumored Internet-only streaming service made its debut today as well. HBO Now will be available exclusively for Apple iDevices (for the time being, anyway) for $15 a month. People who sign up in April will receive their first month free — just in time to catch the premier of Game of Thrones’ fifth season. The exclusive partnership with HBO will last three months, at which point HBO Now will be available on other devices. In addition, Apple TV settop boxes will be available for $69, marked down from $99.
Apple announced an open source framework that makes it easier formedical researchers to build iOS apps to target patients with asthma, breast cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and Parkinsons. At the event, Apple senior VP Jeff Williams demonstrated a Parkinsons’ app that allow patients to record their symptoms via their phones and send the data directly to researchers.(Apple)
Over 900 ResearchKit apps have been created so far, according to Apple.
If you ever happen to be traveling through Beijing and the cable on your MacBook charger breaks (yet again), not to worry. Apple now has 21 retail stores inside the Great Wall, including a groovy new flagship store in West Lake, China.
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