Apple’s next big thing aims for wrists

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple aims to have its smart watch on wrists in China, the US and beyond in April, and ignite its first new gadget category since the debut of the iPad.
The Apple Watch will be available in nine countries from April 24, at a starting price of $349. A limited edition gold Apple Watch will be available with a price topping $10,000.
“Apple Watch begins a new chapter in the way we relate to technology,” said chief executive Tim Cook, who starred at an Apple Watch media event in San Francisco on Monday.
Cook said “the most personal device we have ever created” can display a variety of displays ranging from a classic watch face to an animated Mickey Mouse.
Connecting wirelessly to a user’s iPhone, the watch is designed as a wrist device for messaging, calls and a cornucopia of apps, especially those geared toward health or fitness.
Users can send a real-time display of their heartbeat to another Apple Watch to “let someone know you are thinking about them.”
“I hope someone sends me one of those,” quipped Cook.
Apple enters a market that has a number of players, ranging from South Korean giants Samsung and LG, to Japan’s Sony and startups such as Pebble.
But analysts expect Apple to invigorate the market by integrating the watch with the iPhone and its mighty software ecosystem.
“Apple will outsell all the rest of them combined in 2015,” said Forrester analyst James McQuivey.
“But in so doing, Apple will bring very valuable attention to the market, essentially releasing a rising tide that will float all their boats.”
Apple Watch offers a range of communication apps and can be used as a sort of wrist-radio from the Dick Tracy comics.
“With the built in speaker and microphone, you can receive calls on your watch. I have been wanting to do this since I was five years old,” Cook said.
The watch is integrated with Apple Pay’s mobile wallet and can be used to view pictures, monitor news and connect to social media.
Apple said that the ranks of businesses accepting Apple Pay is booming, and that it recently sold its 700 millionth iPhone.