Apple Watch might surprise

11 มีนาคม 2558

Apple chief Tim Cook likes Apple Watch, but so do some analysts.

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Apple Watches are seen on display during an Apple media event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California on March 09, 2015. AFP PHOTO / JOSH EDELSON

Apple Watch might surprise

San Francisco, AFP – Apple aims to have its smart watch on wrists in China, the US and beyond in April, and ignite its first new gadget category since the debut of the iPad.

The Apple Watch will be available in nine countries from April 24, at a starting price of $349. A limited edition gold Apple Watch will be available with a price topping $10,000.

"Apple Watch begins a new chapter in the way we relate to technology," said chief executive Tim Cook, who starred at an Apple Watch media event in San Francisco on Monday.

Apple CEO Tim Cook during an Apple media event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California on March 09, 2015.

Connecting wirelessly to a user's iPhone, the watch is designed as a wrist device for messaging, calls and a cornucopia of apps, especially those geared toward health or fitness.

Users can send a real-time display of their heartbeat to another Apple Watch to "let someone know you are thinking about them."

Apple enters a market that has a number of players, ranging from South Korean giants Samsung and LG, to Japan's Sony and startups such as Pebble.

Apple Inc. is expected to unveil more details on the much anticipated Apple Watch, the tech giant's entry into the rapidly growing wearable technology segment. AFP PHOTO / STEPHEN LAM

But analysts expect Apple to invigorate the market by integrating the watch with the iPhone and its mighty software ecosystem.

"Apple will outsell all the rest of them combined in 2015," said Forrester analyst James McQuivey.

"But in so doing, Apple will bring very valuable attention to the market, essentially releasing a rising tide that will float all their boats."

"With the 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," Cook said.

The watch is integrated with Apple Pay's mobile wallet and can be used to view pictures, monitor news and connect to social media.

Apple said that the ranks of businesses accepting Apple Pay is booming, and that it recently sold its 700 millionth iPhone.

"Now it's on your wrist, not in your pocket or your pocketbook," Cook said.

Apple demonstrated using the watch to find out lyrics to songs being heard, remotely opening home doors and displaying barcodes that act as airline boarding passes.

But a key focus was health and fitness applications.

The watch has an accelerometer, a heart rate sensor and sensors for "a comprehensive picture of your all-day activity and workouts."

It will prompt a user to get up and walk if sedentary too long.

Cook boasted that the device will have "all-day battery life" – or some 18 hours.

Initially, it will be available in Australia, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and the United States. Pre-orders will be taken from April 10.

Moor Insights and Strategy founder Patrick Moorhead, who attended the event, said "the secret weapon here is the ability to message each other by tapping on the watch. I think people, particularly kids, are going to go nuts over that."

Jan Dawson at Jackdaw Research said he expects Apple to sell around 20 million of the devices this year.