Apple Inc has rolled out its first product in five years in a bid to extend its preeminence in mobile devices.
ADVERTISEMENT
It has been long awaited, previewed, much talked about – and very hyped.
Now the Apple Watch has been unveiled at a special show in San Francisco, six months after the smartwatch was previewed in September, and six weeks before it is due to go on sale in stores on April 24.
It is the company’s first new product since the iPad in 2010; and the first under chief executive Tim Cook.
“With a 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. The day is finally here,” Cook told the audience.
In the presentation, Cook described the watch handling many functions currently associated with the iPhone, which tethers wirelessly to the watch and connects it to the Internet.
Apple is by no means the first in the wearable tech market – Samsung unveiled its first smartwatch eighteen months ago.
As with previous devices, some experts say that Apple will be hoping to dominate the entire category by convincing consumers that its product is the one they need.
Attributes, like the ability to tap you on the wrist to alert you to an event, will now come under intense scrutiny.
In the end, the test will be whether people are prepared to part with hundreds – or for the top model thousands of euros, for the privilege.