Apple Launches New Apple Watch and New MacBook
Apple has just finished their special event in San Francisco where they announced the long-awaited and eagerly anticipated Apple Watch. The Apple Watch represents Apples first ever wearable computing device that the company hopes to compete well against other wearable technology brands like Fitbit, Samsung Gear, or Jawbone UP.
The 1.5 hour event that was streamed to Safari-only devices, not only included the Apple Watch debut as a headline performer, but included announcements surrounding Apples New ResearchKit, HBO NOW, and updates to Apples line of MacBook computers. The other major announcement from Apple was their all-new redesigned MacBook.
The Apple Watch will come in three distinct flavors and cost ranges, the not-so-basic Stainless Steel, the more special Anodized Aluminum, and the supremely special 18-caret Gold. Apple CEO Tim Cook calls the Apple Watch, The most advanced timepiece ever!
The Apple Watch features a number of different faces, the ability to make and receive phone calls (with the help of an Apple iOS mobile phone), a new feature called Digital Touch that allows you to send transmissions to a friend with Apple Watch.
Communication with your Apple iPhone is done via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth so if you are in your home or network, you dont have to be within a limited Bluetooth range. Finally, the Apple Watch is designed to have all-day battery life. From what we heard, this would be around 18-hours of normal use.
The Apple Watch will be available in three collections, Apple Watch Sport, priced at $349 and $399 (US); Apple Watch, available from $549 to $1,099; and Apple Watch Edition, crafted from custom rose or yellow 18-karat gold alloys, with prices starting at $10,000.
Pre-orders will start on April 10, with the watch available on April 24th.
The newly announced MacBook now features an Intel Core M that draws only 5 Watts of power with a new, Terraced Contoured Battery technology All Day Battery Life (9 hours); 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0, an all-new USB-C Connector which not only transfers data via USB 3.1, but also powers the laptop, and has video out – all in a single connector.
The new MacBook will start at $1299 for 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and 1.1 GHz Intel Core M processor with Intel HD Graphics 5300 power. There will also be a 1.2 GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor with Turbo Boost version that provides speeds of up to 2.6GHz, 8GB of memory, 512GB of flash storage and Intel HD Graphics 5300 available starting at $1,599 as well.
The MacBook will be shipping April 10th.
Apple ResearchKit, a new initiative from Apple to help with medical researchers giving them various tools by way of newly introduced apps to revolutionize medical studies. Essentially, the power of crowdsourcing has come to Apple (and others) with respect to gathering and analyzing data for medical purposes. Todays presentation was a powerful message on what sorts of positive things can happen when we apply technology. Of course, time will tell how effective this effort will be.