Carlson - Apple Watch: A Take Control Crash Course

This ebook was published in March 2015 by TidBITS Publishing Inc. It was written by Jeff Carlson and edited by Adam and Tonya Engst, and Jason Snell.

This book helps you with the Apple Watch, Apples newest product for connecting your digital devices and information. It focuses on what the Apple Watch is (and isnt), how it interacts with other Apple products, and how you can incorporate the Apple Watch into your daily life.

Apple Watch: A Take Control Crash Course, version 1.0

Copyright 2015, Jeff Carlson. All rights reserved.

Thanks for purchasing this early look at the Apple Watch! We are planning a free update in May with significantly expanded content, based on our experiences once our Apple Watches arrive. To check on our progress and get the update, see .

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Apple is hailed as a pinnacle of consumer electronics design, but it has also been an unexpected driver of fashion. The iPod was notable for storing 1,000 songs in a device about the size of a deck of cards, but one of its lasting impacts was to introduce white earbuds to nearly every public space. Wearing them now is so commonplace that we dont even think about it, yet a decade ago they were a fashion statement: I own an Apple product.

Now, with the imminent release of the Apple Watch, the company is making another fashion statement: Your personal technology can be more personal, and more distinctive. Its not a sliver of glass you pull out of your pocket or bag. Its a timepiece, a communications center, and a connection to your personal information that you wear all the time.

Maybe you currently wear a watch, or perhaps you havent worn one for years, if ever. Whats the appeal of an Apple timepiece? Well, just as the phone features of the iPhone are probably the least used compared to its other capabilities, telling time with the Apple Watch will probably represent only a fraction of what you do with it.

The Apple Watch is an extension of the data you deal with every day. Without making the now-common-but-still-distracting motion of pulling out your iPhone, you can keep up with your schedule and reminders; interact with people via text messaging or phone; reach out to other Apple Watch owners using the novel Digital Touch features; track several fitness goals and record vital exercise information generated by the sensors in the watch and in your iPhone; purchase items using Apple Pay; and so much more. And youll look stylish while doing it.

This book is your essential guide to the Apple Watch and its capabilities and possibilities. Were releasing it ahead of the Apple Watch launch (which is slated for April 24, 2015) to help you with and to familiarize yourself with what the watch can do, along with what it cannot do and what the competition is like.

I wore and interacted with an Apple Watch at Apples introductory event in September 2014, and will be getting one as soon as its available (Im eyeing the stainless steel model with a traditional black band). Once its strapped to my wrist, Ill update this book with far more hands-on detail, and the updated book will be available to all readers for freesee near the back of this book for a link you can click to check on my progress (look on the Blog tab) and download the update (look on the Downloads tab).

Im eagerly anticipating Apples foray into wearable devices, and I hope you are, too.

Choosing an Apple Watch

With most of Apples products, choosing which model to buy involves evaluating specifications: Do you want a MacBook Pro with a 13-inch or 15-inch screen? How much storage and memory will it have? How fast is the processor?

With the Apple Watch, the device itself appears to be identical across the range of models. Instead, the differentiator is the material used for the case and the display cover. The watch is available in three models: Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and (the oddly named) Apple Watch Edition. You also get to choose the size and band.

Apple Watch Sport

To make the watch lightweight for exercise, the Apple Watch Sport is designed with an anodized aluminum case (using a custom alloy that is 60 percent stronger than normal aluminum) and an Ion-X glass display. Ion-X is a glass variant that is stronger and more scratch-resistant than normal glass, but isnt as protective as sapphire.

Apple Watch

Theyre all Apple Watches, but the singularly named Apple Watch model has a stainless steel case (available in regular steel or a darker space black tint) and a sapphire crystal surface protecting the display .

The stainless steel Apple Watch is shown with the Milanese Loupe band.

Apple Watch Edition

For the flush buyer interested in making a fashion statement, the Apple Watch Edition features an 18-karat gold case in yellow or rose hues and sapphire crystal cover .

Yellow 18-karat gold accents the Apple Watch Edition.