Apple Watch release date is April 24; priced from $349 to $10,000 plus

3/9/2015

San Francisco -- Apple on Monday announced that the Apple Watch will be available starting April 24, to customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, and Japan. For shoppers who can’t wait that long, the device will be available for preview, try-on and preorder starting April 10.



Apple’s smartwatch is available in three collections: Apple Watch Sport, priced at $349 and $399; Apple Watch, available from $549 to $1,099; and the high-end Apple Watch Edition, crafted from custom rose or yellow 18-karat gold alloys, with prices starting at $10,000.



“Apple Watch begins a new chapter in the way we relate to technology and we think our customers are going to love it,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We can’t wait for people to start wearing Apple Watch to easily access information that matters, to interact with the world, and to live a better day by being more aware of their daily activity than ever before.



The watch will be controlled by a dedicated iPhone app, that allows users to change settings, manage notifications and apps. Among the device’s most notable features in an Activity app, that provides a simple visual snapshot of the wearer’s daily activity with three rings that measure active calories burned, brisk activity and how often the wearer stood up to take a break from sitting during the day.



The device is controlled with the "Digital Crown," similar to the mouse pointer for the personal computer or the touch screen for the iPhone. The crown can be twisted to scroll, zoom and navigate without obstructing the display.



The device is said to be highly customizable for personal expression and brings an entirely new way to receive information at a glance and interact with the world through third-party app experiences designed specifically for the wrist. For example, the devices enables users to send messages, read email and answer calls to their iPhone. It integrates with Apple Pay and can be used to display a boarding pass.



“Conceived, designed and developed as a singular product, Apple Watch merges hardware and software like never before,” said Jony Ive, Apple’s senior VP of design. “In Apple Watch, we’ve created three beautifully curated collections with a software architecture that together enable unparalleled personalization in a wearable device.”


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