Apple Springs Forward
Tim Cook and friends took to the stage once again in San Francisco for its long awaited Spring Forward event. Apple released a number of ever impressive stats — over 700 million iPhones sold for one — and elicited more rounds of applause than a typical State of the Union address. Which, is pretty much what these Apple press conferences do in fact represent: the State of the Union for the entire mobile industry. Where they go, others follow.
And there is quite a lot to follow. An impressive debut for Apple Watch, an all new MacBook, and an exclusive deal with HBO and its new online-only streaming service. Here’s what you need to know from today’s event.
Apple Watch is Coming
It’s a lovely machine. Apple didn’t quite blow our minds, but they certainly blew our hair back with today’s Watch announcement. It will be hard to say just how useful the Watch will be to every consumer segment. But if you’re like us and use your iPhone all day for everything, there’s no doubt the Watch will be a welcome edition to your wrist. The Sport edition will certainly be the most popular with it’s $349 – $399 price tag. We doubt the $10,000 Apple Watch Edition in 18-karat gold will exactly reach mass adoption.
With Watch, Apple hit the points it needed to hit. Incredibly customizable — you can bet you’ll have a band for every occasion, from business to biking. All day battery life. And an important bonus screen to receive calls and send messages, and order Ubers from. Dick Tracy wants to upgrade.
Important bulletpoints:
- Release date: April 24.
- Apple Watch Sport is composed of customized aluminum alloy. Comes in silver or Space Gray.
- Color bands are made of high-performance plastic. $349 for 38mm, $399 for 42mm sizes.
- Apple Watch (steel case) starts at $549 (38mm) and goes up to $1,049, depending on band. 42mm is $50 more.
- Apple Watch Edition (18-karat gold case) starts at $10,000.
- You can preorder all models starting April 10. Shipping April 24.
- Global launch. Will be available in several countries, including UK, Australia, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany and France.
- Communicates with iPhone over WiFi and Bluetooth. Can be anywhere in house, not just in Bluetooth range.
- iPhone will download apps for Watch via Apple Watch Store.
- Designed it with “all-day battery life” across a range of uses. 18 hours in typical day.
- You connect and Apple Watch to another Apple Watch (direct communication). Draw a sketch and have it pop onto friends’ watch. Or tap to get friend attention. Or send your heart beat.
HBO Now is exclusive to Apple TV and iOS
Here’s a pleasant surprise. HBO is finally launching its standalone web subscription pattern, a bonafide Netflix competitor. CNN is reporting that the exclusivity window will last three months, and then you can sign up for HBO Now on other devices. The service will cost $14.99, and is available on iOS devices and Apple TV — no word on MacBooks, unfortunately. The service goes live, just in time for the new season of Game of Thrones.
Apple TV is Now Only $69.99
Hooray!
I wish I could strap this thing on my wrist. It makes my brand new MacBook Pro look like a ’56 Chevy. Apple’s engineering and design teams are second to none.
Finally the iPhone is More Important Than Ever
Already the top-selling phone in the world, there’s no end in sight. Apple’s strategy is clear as it builds services and wearables around the iPhone, the crown jewel of its empire that makes everything go. Apple Pay has more than 2,500 banks and 700,000 vendors cooperating. In case you love dangerous spikes in blood sugar, you can now use Apple Pay at 40,000 Coca Cola vending machines, for whatever that’s worth. Car Play will be supported by every major automaker, with 40 new cars on the way this year. HomeKit will let you control every light in your house should you desire, and there are already more than 900 apps developed using HealthKit.
If you have app ideas for your home or health, for your car or your clothes, now is the time to get cracking.
All in all, another banner day for Apple. Stay tuned for more on Apple Watch as we scratch and claw to get our hands on some before April 24.
If you still have questions please contact our mobile app team in San Francisco today.
