Apple have finally launched their highly anticipated smart watch, simply titled The Apple Watch. The advertisement played to roaring cheers at their expo which took place on Tuesday as they revealed a sleekly designed customisable watch that is set to join an already overcrowded market. Let’s take a look at what features the new device will boast and what exactly has got everyone so excited.

The Apple Watch

The Apple Watch allows access to contacts from your iPhone

Apple Chief Executive, Timothy D. Cook, said in an interview that the new watch, the first new product under his appointment three years ago, was a clear sign that Apple was still an innovative company. He dismissed concerns that the Apple Watch was late to the party, saying “It’s about being the best. And I think we just launched the Apple watch that is sort of in a category by itself [and] will redefine what people expect of products in the category.”

Bold claims indeed considering the company the Apple Watch is up against. Samsung, Sony and Pebble are the companies leading the way with their respective products and sales are growing rapidly. Will the Apple Watch truly bring a new standard to an already very crowded field and what will make it stand out against the competition?

The Logistics

So how will it work? The watch is controlled by a ‘digital crown’ on one side, like the one you would normally use to set the time on a traditional watch. This dial allows you to scroll, zoom and browse through the watch’s entire user interface. Tapping this button will also efficiently return users to the home screen. The physical screen can detect the difference between a touch and a press, which can be used to access further settings and menus within the watch.

The Apple Watch has been designed to be integrated with iPhones 5 and above. Now, there are a tonne of different things wearers will be able to do with their Apple Watch and iPhone, some of which we might not even know yet. But it will include sending texts and emails, voice messages and even control music. It will also utilise Siri which can be activated by a button on the side of the watch. Like with iPhones, wearers can ask “What films are showing nearby?” and Siri will bring up answers on the maps app. The watch is connected via GPS and Wi-Fi which are capable of guiding you to nearby locations. It seems they have gone to a lot of effort to make the integration between Apple devices seamless and easy to do and will be one of the products biggest selling points.

Apple Watch Will Also Work As Sports Watch

The Fitness App measures your movements each day

The Apple Watch will have a strong focus on health and fitness. It will house a compilation of fitness apps that will enable the Apple device to also act as a sports watch. Using the watch’s GPS and in-built accelerometer, the Fitness app will monitor your general day to day movements and activity. Apple watch will also show wearers how long they have been sitting and how long it takes them to stand again with the aim of motivating people to sit less and move more.

There will also be a Workout app that will be able to allow users to track all kinds of statistics when doing exercise like cycling or running. This will work with Apple Watch’s heart rate sensor that will monitor the intensity of the exercise. The app lets you set parameters, like how fast or how long you would like to work out for and even set calorie targets and reach goals that will all be visible on your integrated iPhone.

Despite probably being more expensive, could this focus on fitness make the Apple Watch a competitor in the sports watch market as well? Challenging products like the TomTom Multi-Sport GPS Watch? We think that could be a possibility but time will tell when more details are unveiled.

Customisable

There will be three different versions of the Apple Watch available. The first will be simply the Apple Watch and consist of a silver watch unit and a selection of six straps. The second will be the Apple Watch Sport which will have a tough aluminium body and more comfortable straps. The third will be the Apple Watch Edition which will come in 18ct gold. The watches will be fully customisable with 6 different straps available at the moment but this will probably increase after the watch is released. Pricing is to start at around $350.

For more detail on five of the best features, check out the video at the top. There is probably a tonne of different functions and applications that will become apparent as the dust settles on Apple’s latest launch but for now it’s looking like Apple really have redefined what consumers will expect from their smart watches. They have stressed that they are trying to move away from a phone strapped to a wrist and really make their Apple Watch stand out as something that can enhance users’ experience with Apple products. There’s no official release date as of yet but it is expected to hit stores some time in 2015.