Articles about Apple Watch

The Apple Watch "official" launch event (as opposed to last autumn’s mere unveiling) is almost upon us -- in fact it’s a week from today -- and CEO Tim Cook has been busy stoking the hype fires one last time.

Cook talked to the Telegraph about the sort of innovations Apple is planning to bring forth with its smartwatch, one of which is that the device will be usable as your car keys -- replacing the chunky fobs that vehicles use these days.

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Over the holiday weekend, I started using the Moto 360, which user experience is way better than anticipated. For all the nutcases calling Apple Watch innovative and revolutionary—without there even being a device for them to test—Android Wear is, ah, timely. Google gives great utility that will be difficult for the fruit-logo company to match. Reasons are simple: Context, search, sync, UI design, and Google Now.

I resisted the smartwatch concept for having been there before. Few of the gadget geeks gushing about wearables are old enough to remember Microsoft SPOT. Mid-last decade, the company partnered with real watchmakers (Fossil, Suunto, and Swatch); the devices were as much jewelry as functional timepieces; FM radio delivered appointments, news, weather, and other alerts independent of cell phones; and battery life lasted three days or more (which wasn't enough). By these measures, SPOT watches were so much more and still failed. Hence, these are reasons why in past analyses I called the decade-later attempt dumb. But I was wrong.

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That is the only takeaway from today's brutal bias assault against Android Wear. Canalys reports half-year 2014 shipments of 720,000, and the Apple-loving free press categorizes the number as a failure. Meanwhile, the analyst firm boasts that "All eyes are now on Apple, which will reveal further details about the Apple Watch prior to its release in April". Not mine. Are yours?

Over at Wall Street Journal, Rolfe Winkler begins his hatchet piece with: "It's been a slow start for Google’s smartwatches". The search and information giant doesn't sell any of the devices, developing the underlying platform. Nitpicking aside, he ridiculously writes: "Apple sold roughly 114 million iPhones over the same period. That means Apple sold almost as many iPhones each day as makers of Android smartwaches sold over the six months". Oh yeah?

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Like it or not, wearable technology seems to be here to stay. 2014 saw many advances for the Pebble smartwatch, Google Glass stayed in the game, though remained out of the price range for most consumers. Android Wear debuted with several brands offering differing form factors. But where does this new product line head off to in 2015?

For starters, there is Apple, which announced its offering recently, though it won't be available until next year. That one is, like anything announced by the Cupertino-based company, greatly anticipated by a certain group of people. And like other Apple products, it will also be overpriced in a market where you can buy a Pebble for $99.

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Another report has emerged pointing to 2015 as being a massive year for wearables, with the gadgets expected to explode in popularity.

In particular the smartwatch is expected to finally take off, with the Apple Watch helping to drive that category forward when it’s released next spring. Thus far, fitness bands have easily topped the wearables category, but smartwatches are expected to accelerate rapidly now they’re shedding the geeky image with the likes of smart-looking Android Wear devices, as well as Apple’s effort.

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It's the time of year -- no pun intended -- when websites and magazines start to reflect over the year that has passed. As we reach the closing stages of 2014, TIME has taken a look back at the preceding months and picked out its highlights from the world of innovation in its annual collection of "the best inventions making the world better, smarter and—in some cases—a little more fun".

There may not be quite the same importance placed on TIME's favorite inventions as its annual person of the year award, but it makes for interesting reading nonetheless. With a print circulation running into millions, it's a publication that holds some influence across swathes of America. Apple and Microsoft make appearances in the list, but there are a few surprise inclusions from the world of tech as well.

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Apple's Senior Vice President of Design, Jony Ive, used an interview at London's Design Museum to lash out at design copycats. He touched on many topics, including suggesting that design schools rely too heavily on computers, the "theft" of Apple designs, and explaining why the design of Apple's own products is formulaic.

In conversation with Deyan Sudjic, director of the Design Museum, Ive also said that Apple does not exist to make money. This will come as news to most people -- including, perhaps, Apple itself -- particularly as the company is currently the most valuable brand in the world. He insists that integrity is at the very heart of Apple, and that any money that may come rolling in is merely "a consequence".

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One of the main reasons why smartwatches are a tough sell today is battery life. Consumers expect them to work for a very long period of time on a single charge when, in reality, they only last for a day or two. It is no surprise then that, coupled with other issues related to the user experience, most people could not care less about them.

Not even the long-awaited Apple Watch looks like it will be able to match our expectations. When Tim Cook unveiled the device last month he left out details regarding battery life, which we took as a sign that we should not get our hopes up. A statement that Apple's CEO just made at the WSJ.D conference confirms our concerns.

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At the airport, it's normal to see customer service staff equipped with phones, walkie-talkies and perhaps a tablet. Passengers travelling to and from Scotland who pass through Edinburgh airport will soon find that they are greeted by staff adorned with Google Glass. Google's wearable specs are to be trialled in the Scottish airport in a bid to provide more help and information to travelers.

Customer support representatives will be able to call up flight details and answer queries using the head-mounted Android-powered hardware.

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Apple Watch is off to a rather shaky start, as some folks feel it isn't as smart looking or svelte as we were expecting, and others don't believe it has enough functionality, and doesn't do anything different from existing smartwatches.

And now UK motoring organization the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is putting the boot in -- on all smartwatches, mind, although the organization’s press release highlights Apple's -- and the risks of using such a gadget while driving.

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Luxury watch brand Tag Heuer has announced plans to follow the likes of Apple and Samsung into the smartwatch industry.

The Swiss watchmaker, now part of French luxury goods group LVMH, recently lost its vice president of global sales, Patrick Pruniaux to Apple and is seeking revenge by going into direct competition with the tech giant.

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Wearable tech is back in the forefront with the release of the Apple Watch. Apple’s entrant is sure to help the sector overall, with expectations of tens if not hundreds of millions of devices to ship annually from Apple and others by the end of the decade.

This success does not come without its share of questions, however. Unlike our cell phones, tablets, and video game consoles, this new class of devices are different. For a lack of a better way to say it, they are a part of you. Its use carries significant societal and moral implications.

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Microsoft continues its recent trend of bringing exciting new features to rival platforms by adding Android Wear support to OneNote. The most recent version of Microsoft's note-taking tool -- suitably named OneNote for Android Wear -- and a new iOS 8-friendly version of the app is also due to launch today. If you've invested in an Android smartwatch (you'll have to wait a little longer for an Apple Watch version), taking a note is as simple as uttering "OK Google, take a note" -- but be prepared for a few weird looks when you try this out in a store for the first time.

To take advantage of the voice-activated features of the app, you will also need to have the main OneNote app installed on your Android phone or tablet. Forget the fact that your smartwatch doesn't have a keyboard -- notes can now be dictated to your wrist in a way that will not in any way make people who may be nearby think you're a little, er, strange. Or, as the Office Blog puts it, "we hope you enjoy using OneNote in a manner even Dick Tracy would envy!"

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I am reluctant to criticize unreleased Apple Watch because my analysis about original iPad -- given before seeing it -- was wrong. That said, Android Wear, while seemingly sensible comparison that analysts, bloggers, and journalists make, isn't right. When put in perspective of next-generation wearables, I think Apple Watch should be compared to Google Glass.

Be honest. Which looks more innovative to you? The utility of something you see at eye level that provides real-time, location-based information is much greater than something that demands more responsive -- "Hey, Siri" -- interaction and turns the glance and fingers downward. Granted, Apple Watch delivers alerts, and you feel them, but your attention is always to look away.

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Analysts and the Apple faithful alike fawned over the new device when Apple introduced the Apple Watch on Tuesday, the company’s first new product of the Cook era. However, if you’re one to believe rumors, an upstart company called Invensense may stand to gain the most from Apple’s latest device.

An increasing amount of evidence now suggests that the San Jose, Calif. based company stands to cash in on the Apple Watch, as it is believed that Invensense is supplying Apple with the components necessary to power the Apple Watch’s most compelling features.

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