One More Thing... What Apple Didn't Say About its Watch: Remaining Questions (and Some Answers)
Apple's announcement of its new smartwatch, which until Tuesday had been dubbed by the tech press the iWatch, garnered a lot of excitement. But after reflection, there are a few things Apple forgot to mention -- or deliberately obfuscated -- about its new wearable device.
You can check this article out for the essential details Apple did announce about the Apple Watch. Now, here's a rundown of the missing details, along with a few answers.
What We Still Don't Know:
Battery Life
Apple CEO Tim Cook mostly kept mum about the expected battery life of the Apple Watch, only saying in passing that it would last "a day." This was not a surprising omission from the Apple love-fest event on Tuesday, after the company downplayed battery expectations ahead of the smartwatch's unveiling. Unnamed sources talking to Re/Code after the event said that Apple isn't happy with the battery life of the device, saying, "It's about a day right now."
If you get one, expect to have a new nightly routine charging your iPhone and Watch with two different types of chargers -- and if you're a heavy user, you might want to buy an extra charger for work to keep your timepiece running all day. Apple tried to mitigate this annoyance by designing a MagSafe snap-in charger with induction charging. It's safe to assume a normal night's sleep is enough to fully charge the device, but Apple hasn't given any exact details about charge times, either.
Watch Specs
The Apple Watch was introduced with a plethora of features and ready-to-go apps, with the promise of more to come. And the company played up the Watch's scratch-resistant sapphire Retina screen, but Apple hasn't released any details about the screen's resolution. Or performance in outdoor glare -- because we don't even know what kind of technology they used for the touchscreen.
On top of that, Apple played up the beautiful design of the Watch without mentioning very many specifics about the actual dimensions and weight of the thing. How heavy will it feel on your wrist? There's no telling yet. The smartwatch comes in two screen sizes, 38mm and 42mm, but how thick is the Watch? We don't know, other than guestimates from the photos and hands-on previews.
Release Date... and Why?
Cook said the Watch would be available sometime "early next year," but that's the only time frame we got.
One would assume that the Watch isn't hitting the shelves at the same time as the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus because Apple was finishing up the Watch too late to manufacture enough for even one of those "sold out in 1 hour" preliminary releases. But there's been no information about just how behind an ideal release schedule Apple's manufacturing partners may be.
This isn't just nitpicking because sometimes the vagueness of release details can really matter in the tech world. Remember when Google was hinting at a "wider release" of the Google Glass in 2014? Turns out they might have just meant putting the $1,500 "Explorer" beta devices on the Google Play store for anyone to pick up (which they did a week ago), rather than a big release of a polished and price-conscious consumer edition.
What if "early next year" means late spring, and in such limited quantities that only those who camped outside an Apple Store get one? It's not likely, but given the vagueness of the release date, it's not impossible. At least Cook told us its price.
Price for "Edition," Sport, Accessories
Except he didn't, really. We know the basic Apple Watch will cost about $350. But one of the things Apple played up on Tuesday was the interchangeable watchbands, and the fact that the Watch also comes in a high-fashion edition (awkwardly dubbed only "Edition") and a Sport edition.
But Tim Cook didn't actually mention many details about the watchbands (How much do they cost? Can you even buy an extra band except secondhand? Can you mix and match watchbands from different editions?) or how much the other two smartwatches cost.
(Photo : Apple)
If you have to ask, it's probably too expensive. The Watch's "Edition" ... edition ... has a case made from specially hardened 18-karat gold, and word has leaked that it will come with a "gorgeous" jewelry box, which is also a charger.
So we can probably estimate the "Edition" in a price range somewhere between too expensive and you wish.
It's fine for Cook to omit the price of a luxury item not intended for the masses, which we plebes will never be able to afford anyway -- but why not tell us how much the Sport edition costs?
It stands to reason a lot of people would be interested in that version of the Watch, especially if it's considerably more durable than the standard edition. Does it cost more than the Watch, and if so, how much more? Not saying leads consumers to think it's not a pretty price hike.
How Sporty is the Apple Watch Sport?
We know the Watch Edition edition's additional feature is a fancy gold shell and maybe a fancy charging case. But what does the Sport edition really offer?
Besides coming with bright plastic wristbands, an unpolished aluminum case, Ion-X strengthened glass, and a promise that it's "light and durable," it's really hard to see what the Watch Sport will offer fitness buffs out there that's not already available from a dozen wrist-based tracking devices.
Apple didn't go into any detail about just how much more light and durable the Sport edition is, whether it's waterproof or at least more water resistant, and how crack-proof the special ionized glass is.
The absence of information leaves everyone with the obvious thought, "not much" in answer to those questions. Even if that's jumping to conclusions, it seems like it's not significantly sportier than the standard Watch for Cook to specifically hype -- or talk about -- on stage.
Early Answers To Some Questions:
General Water Resistance
(Photo : Apple)
You'd expect the Watch Sport edition to be waterproof or at least competitively water resistant, but how water resistant is the standard Watch? David Pouge of Yahoo Tech found out privately from Apple representatives that at least sweating, washing your hands, cooking and wearing it in the rain won't destroy your Watch.
It's not waterproof though, and exactly how water resistant (IP rating please?) is still an unknown.
Left-Handed Functionality
With all the attention on the "Digital Crown" zoom and scroll-wheel -- located on the right side of the device -- during the Apple unveiling, it occurred to us that lefties would be left out if there wasn't an option for them.
Apple's #iWatch is just called the Watch, goes back to the iPod for physical navigation dial... On the right side... what about the lefties?
— LatinPost Tech (@LatinPostTech) September 9, 2014
Now, in an update of an article with a similar concern, SlashGear found out that the watch can be initially set up for lefties. Unfortunately, they'll have to switch around the watchbands and deal with the Digital Crown oriented on the bottom side when they slap it on their right wrist, but the Watch's touchscreen interface can turn upside down to accommodate southpaws.
Apple Pay Security
Apple unveiled "Pay," what it hopes will be a wildly successful and secure way to digitally pay for things in the real world with just a tap of your device, and when the Watch was unveiled, the company said the same NFC-enabled Pay feature would work on your wrist.
But with no iPhone TouchID on the Apple Watch, what's to prevent someone from taking a stolen Watch and going to town? Cult of Mac found out recently that the Watch has a clever design feature to prevent this: It can detect when it's not on your wrist and automatically locks, requiring a passcode to activate again.
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