Rudderham - Apple Watch Introduction

Apple Watch Introduction

Apple has been making electronic devices for nearly 40 years. Chances are youve owned a few of them. From computers and mice, to audio players and tablets, theres a staggering breadth of product variety in Apples portfolio. In 2015, the company launched the Apple Watch. Its a brand new category of device for the company, and it brings with it a number of unique challenges that meant rethinking how hardware and software interact with the user. Apple Watch needs to be light and comfortable, but sturdy enough to survive everyday wear and tear. It needs fit snugly on a number of wrist sizes, and work for both right and left-handed users. It needs to be splash proof, and work in both hot and cold climates. It needs to charge wirelessly, and have enough battery to make it through the day, and it needs to be personal, and beautiful, and easy to use. Thats a lot to ask for a device thats mere inches in size.

Smart watches have been with us for quite some time. During the 1970s, Pulsar and Hewlett Packard introduced watches with built-in calculators, while recently a number of companies including Samsung and Sony have released watches that integrate with mobile phones to alert users of notifications, give directions and even take photos. Apple Watch is the first to make technology more accessible, relevant and personal. It melds technology with fashion to create a device that youll actually want to wear on your wrist, and one that compliments your attire, whether thats a suit, dress, jeans or beach wear.

There are three models of Apple Watch, one made from aluminium, another from stainless steel and a third made from 18-karat solid gold. These are available in two sizes, work on either your left or right wrist, and come with various straps and bands that can be swapped at will. All these variations make Apple Watch the most personal device in Apples history.

Apple Watch is an incredibly precise timepiece. It uses multiple technologies to keep time down to 50 milliseconds of the definitive global time standard, and as you travel the globe it automatically adjusts to the local time zone. Apple Watch also presents time in a more meaningful, personal way by notifying you of alerts and events relevant to your lifestyle. Its also an intimate device. Using sensors on the ceramic back plate, it can sense your skin contact and read your heartbeat; and when a notification comes through, it gently taps your wrist to let you know.

Apple Watch is designed to keep you fit and healthy, and it can give you a complete picture of your days activity by measuring the movements you take, steps you climb and calories you burn. By using the built-in Activity app, you can get an at-a-glance view of your fitness progress. Three colored rings tell you to sit less, move more and exercise, and over time Apple Watch will learn about your daily activity to offer personalized fitness goals.

Just like the iPhone, iPad and Mac, Apple Watch supports third-party apps that offer limitless potential. At launch there are dozens to choose from, including an app that monitors the charge of the electric BMW i3, an app that helps you board a plane, apps for finding hotels, staying up to date with social media networks and much more. Theres a bright future ahead for Apple Watch. It represents a new chapter in the relationship that people have with technology, and will likely introduce new possibilities that affect how we communicate with others, monitor our health and organise our lives. This book will explore the hardware and software of Apple Watch, explain the differences between the three versions and reveal how to use its many features and apps.

Apple Watch Hardware

From its inception and initial design, Apple has designed Apple Watch with a deep reverence and respect for the art of fine watchmaking. Its raw materials were chosen to honour the traditions of the best, but also push boundaries and improve upon the past. That means custom gold alloys were used for Apple Watch Edition, to create a case thats twice as hard as standard gold. A single sapphire crystal is used to protect the flexible Retina display, and a custom aluminium alloy was created for Apple Watch sports thats 60% stronger than standard aluminium. This care and attention is reflected in all aspects of Apple Watch, including its screen, Digital Crown, bands and straps.