Apple Watch
The Apple Watch is a smartwatch produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with watchOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was released in April 2015,[5][6] and quickly became the world's best-selling wearable device: 4.2 million were sold in the second quarter of fiscal 2015,[7] and more than 115 million people were estimated to use an Apple Watch as of December 2022.[8] Apple has introduced a new generation of the Apple Watch with improved internal components each September[9]—each labeled by Apple as a 'Series', with certain exceptions.[a]
Developer
1st generation: April 24, 2015
Series 1 and Series 2: September 16, 2016
Series 3: September 22, 2017
Series 4: September 21, 2018
Series 5: September 20, 2019
Series 6 and SE (1st generation): September 18, 2020
Series 7: October 15, 2021
Series 8 and SE (2nd generation): September 16, 2022
Ultra: September 23, 2022
Series 9 and Ultra 2: September 22, 2023[3]
100 million (estimated, 2020)[4]
Each Series has been initially sold in multiple variants defined by the watch casing's material, color, and size (except for the budget watches Series 1 and SE, available only in aluminum,[10][13] and the Ultra, available only in 49 mm titanium[12]), and beginning with Series 3, by the option in the aluminum variants for LTE cellular connectivity, which comes standard with the other materials.[14] The band included with the watch can be selected from multiple options from Apple, and watch variants in aluminum co-branded with Nike and in stainless steel co-branded with Hermès are also offered, which include exclusive bands, colors, and digital watch faces carrying those companies' branding.[14]
The Apple Watch operates in conjunction with the user's iPhone for functions such as configuring the watch and syncing data with iPhone apps, but can separately connect to a Wi-Fi network for data-reliant purposes, including communications, app use, and audio streaming.[15][16] LTE-equipped models can also perform these functions over a mobile network, and can make and receive phone calls independently when the paired iPhone is not nearby or is powered-off, substantially reducing the need for an iPhone after initial setup.[b] The oldest iPhone model that is compatible with any given Apple Watch depends on the version of the operating system installed on each device.[19] As of September 2023, new Apple Watches come with watchOS 10 preinstalled and require an iPhone running iOS 17, which is compatible for the iPhone XS and later.[20]
Development[edit]
Apple design chief Jony Ive became interested in building a watch shortly after Steve Jobs's death in October 2011.[21] That December, The New York Times reported that Apple was exploring various ideas, including a "curved-glass iPod that would wrap around the wrist", which users would interact with through the Siri voice assistant, and which "could relay information back to the iPhone".[22] In February 2013, the NYT and The Wall Street Journal again confirmed that Apple was working on a smartwatch with a curved display,[23] and Bloomberg News said the team had grown to about 100 designers.[24]
In March 2013, Apple hired ex-Adobe chief technology officer Kevin Lynch, reporting to Bob Mansfield,[25] to lead the watch project, which would become the company's first major new product without input from late co-founder Steve Jobs.[21] Apple started the project without specific use cases in mind, not knowing what problems the watch would solve, but felt that "technology was going to move onto the body", according to Alan Dye, who was in charge of its user interface. According to Kevin Lynch, the team felt people spent too much time on their phone, nagged by notifications, and a watch would provide "that level of engagement [...] in a way that's a little more human, a little more at the moment when you're with somebody".[21]
In July 2013, Financial Times reported that Apple had begun hiring more employees to work on the smartwatch, and that it was targeting a retail release in late 2014.[26]
The software evolved more quickly than the hardware. To test it, the team created its first prototype, an iPhone strapped to the wrist with velcro, which showed the watch software in its true size and an onscreen watch crown for input. The crown was later turned into a physical dongle plugged into the headphone jack. Early on, the user interface and bundled apps were inspired by the iPhone, but they were too complex and underwent three rounds of redesigns, to avoid awkwardly long interactions that would annoy users. The team worked on notification vibrations and sounds for more than a year, attempting to make them reflect the nature of different notifications. They also added a way to show a contextual menu by pressing the display more deeply, called Force Touch. In contrast with Apple's usually narrow design options, the team thought a watch would need to appeal to users' diverse tastes in fashion, so they opted to give a choice of bands, models (like the gold-plated Apple Watch Edition) and watch faces.[21]