Apple Watch Event 2015 Live Stream and Preview: What to Expect from Apple's New Smartwatch
At 10 a.m. local time in San Francisco, Apple will unveil its new Watch -- again -- but this time, to reveal the Cupertino giant's first wearable technology in detail. That means we'll finally get Apple's official take on several important details that were conspicuously missing when Watch was first revealed half a year ago: Watch's battery life, release date and most importantly pricing for all models.
It's a big day for Apple and CEO Tim Cook, who will be making the case to a skeptical public for why Watch is different than the slew of smartwatches already on the market. Because it's a pivotal day for the company, like for the launch of new iPhones, Apple is offering a live stream of the event on its website.
Here's what to expect at the Apple Watch event.
Watch Details
First and most importantly, Apple will reveal details on the Watch, which, despite the moderate buzz surrounding the new wearable, are still unknown. Among those buzzy details is battery life, which is rumored to be less than Apple hoped for during development, but not completely terrible.
Pricing is of course the most important detail still relatively unknown. Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed the basic Watch model's $349 price in September, but how much consumers can expect to pay for the next two editions -- including the gold clad "Edition" edition, expected to cost several thousand dollars -- still remains unconfirmed.
Other minor features, perhaps some added since the first unveiling, could be revealed, along with a likely slew of new apps -- some of which may actually be exciting -- ready to launch with Watch.
Cook Making the Case
The other thing to expect at the Watch event is Tim Cook and his team making a case for Watch both as a beautiful fashion accessory and as an innovative, versatile everyday tech product (in the vein of the iPhone).
Apple is launching Watch approximately two years after the market for smartwatches and other wearables began to rapidly expand and approximately one year after Google launched an integrated operating system for its partnered manufacturers' smartwatches.
And -- most challenging for the company -- Apple is launching its Watch a good while after much of the "next big thing" tech enthusiast hype seems to have shifted away from smartwatches and towards VR headsets, either because of overall disappointment in the smartwatches currently available, or because the hype over smartwatches has simply worn out its welcome with tech enthusiasts.
Imminent Failure or a Revolution?
Apple has launched a device in such a climate before: The original iPad became a big hit, even after conventional wisdom at the time was skeptical that many consumers would want a technology product that place itself squarely between the portability of a smartphone and the power and utility of a laptop.
At 10 a.m. PST, expect Tim Cook to try to repeat history with the Watch.