Gadgets 
 Apple Announces Its Smartwatch: The $349 Apple Watch
Apple hopes to one-up the competition with its smartwatch

All the rumors were true — Apple just today announced its smartwatch, simply called the Apple Watch.

 

The Apple Watch is incredibly customizable in the form of the bands available, and colors. There are six different bands available including various styles and colors of leather, and multiple metal bands (all of which feature magnetic closures). There is also a mechanism built into the watch housing that allows you to quickly and easily interchange bands.

 

In addition, the Apple watch will be available in two different sizes. Each size will be available in three different “collections.” The Apple Watch will feature a stainless steel case, the Apple Watch Sport features an aluminum case, and the Apple Watch Edition feature a 24k gold housing.
 

 

All the watches have what Tim Cook calls a “digital crown” dial that allows you to zoom in and out (for example in a maps application) or scroll through lists in a messaging app. Clicking on the digital crown takes you back to the home page.
 

 

To conserve battery life, the display remains off most of the time. However, as soon as you raise your wrist to see the time or perform an action, the display springs to action.

 

The display screen is made of sapphire to improve durability and scratch resistance. It has sensors on the back of the stainless steel band to monitor your health (heart rate) and can use its internal gyroscope to monitor your activity level. The device even supports MagSafe wireless charging.
 

While the Apple Watch can function on it own, it works best when paired with an iPhone -- that allows the device to access GPS functionality and internet connectivity. Apple has also announced WatchKit, which allows developers to take advantage of rich notifications on the screen.

 

The Apple Watch will launch in early 2015 with a starting price of $349.
 

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