Here's When You Can Buy Your Apple Watch — and How Much It Will Cost
Apple confirmed that the Apple Watch will be available for pre-order on April 10 at their spring announcement event Monday. Prices will range from the previously announced $349 base price to $10,000 for the highest-quality brand. The watches will begin shipping to customers April 24.
What it is: As Apple announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference last year, there will be three different lines of watches available to consumers: Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch Edition and the standard Apple Watch line. Each line's models will come in two different sizes — 38 and 42 millimeters — and will require an iPhone to use.
Apple CEO Tim Cook described it as "the most personal device we have ever created," outlining the different kinds of materials used to build the Apple Watch, including 18-karat gold. That model, part of the Apple Watch Edition collection, is set to be the most expensive, at $10,000. The most cost-effective option will be the Apple Watch Sport, priced at $349. The Apple Watch, available in a wide range of wristbands, is the middle ground, costing anywhere from $549 to $1099 depending on the size and band type.
What it will do: Included among the features that will be available on Apple Watch are answering phone calls and emails, monitoring blood pressure, controlling your music and using a new feature called Digital Touch. Using Digital Touch, Apple Watch wearers can connect with friends by sharing pictures and notifications directly to other users.
The first apps available on the Apple Watch will include a new workout app, plus a streamlined Twitter app that shows one tweet at a time, a task management app known as Todoist and more, according to the Daily Dot. These apps will be powered through the iPhone at first — hence why the phone is needed for the watch to work properly — but native apps are on their way, according to the Verge.
Luxury play: Despite Cook's insistence that Apple Watch will become an integral part of users' days, the higher-end models indicate Apple's interest in being part of the luxury brand market. Though the iPhone 5S was the first to experiment with golden-colored models, the watch is the first to be made of actual gold, and could be a game-changer for how Apple markets its own products. Previously, Apple products were the luxury; now, presented as an integral part of life, they're expected, and the higher-end items are the luxury.
Other products: The event, still ongoing as Apple unveils their new line of products (streaming here through Safari only), also featured the newest MacBook model. It's the thinnest MacBook ever, weighing in at two pounds, with a 12-inch screen. Like the iPhone, it comes in a golden shine — plus the original silver color and a slate gray. The standard model will cost $1,299.
Additionally, the event featured the announcements of Apple TV's launch-exclusive partnership with HBO Now, the premium cable titan's $14.99-per-month subscription service, as well as a price cut for Apple TV to $69. The keynote also included announcements of new iPhone apps, designed to assist with medical research, launching Monday, plus updates to the hardware for other models of the MacBooks Pro and Air.
Correction: March 9, 2015
