After months of waiting, the Apple Watch was finally announced yesterday. This watch, that Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, called the, “most advanced timepiece ever created,” will be priced from $349 to $17,000 and will come with many features. The Apple Watch Sport, is a bit more friendly to our wallets coming in at $349, or $399.
With 18 hours of battery life, the new watch will allow you to check the time, look at the weather, look ahead to your schedule, make calls and use other apps build specifically for the Watch platform. But many of us have been wondering what it would do for users in terms of fitness.
The Apple Watch can track your movements which has been something other devices have done, but it will also let you know when you have been sitting for too long. A built in workout app will help users maneuver several different cardio activities including running, cycling, elliptical, rower, and stair steppers. Just the fact that it is smaller, lighter, and less burdensome to carry around seems to make it a step up from using your GPS-enabled, heart rate sensing phone. But the fact that it is all that and has an anodized aluminum case which is 60% stronger than standard alloy but also lighter and is water proof could really make this watch the next big thing.
Users who have an iPhone (version 5 or above) can also get real-time updates about their pace, distance, heart rate, and calories burned for various types of activities. It was also reported that the app would be compatible with not only Apple’s apps and devices but also with third party fitness and tracking apps. At the Apple event yesterday Tim Cook referred to having the watch as having a coach on your wrist.
Christy Turlington Burns, founder of Every Mother Counts and a dedicated marathoner was the featured model after she became the first person to ever finish a half marathon with the Apple Watch on earlier this month. For those interested on her or more about the watch, she will be blogging about her experiences on Apple.com while preparing for next month’s London Marathon. She was asked about the watch and summarized how useful this watch could be, saying, ““During the race I relied on workout app to track time, measure distance and push my pace. In my short time using it, I can already see how it will be an important part of my life.”
With so many wearables out there, and the Apple Watch still weeks away from releasing, we are still unsure of how much of an upgrade the Apple product is. But there seems to be a lot of excitement, and the potential of not only this watch but future versions seem to be encouraging for fitness minded individuals.