Apple Watch Event: 10 Things We Learned
Apple Watch details, a new retina MacBook, and a partnership with HBO were among the big announcements at Apple's San Francisco shindig Monday.
Wearable tech took center stage at Apple's "Spring Forward" media event, held at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater on Monday. The Apple Watch got its fair share of attention, but not before the tech giant unveiled a series of announcements.
Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked things off with news that Apple is partnering with HBO on HBO Now, a standalone streaming service that will enable TV fans to watch their favorite HBO shows without a cable subscription. The service is exclusively for Apple products and available through a special channel on Apple TV, which has been discounted from $99 to $69.
On the mobile front, we learned that Apple is taking its involvement in the health space one step ahead with the creation of ResearchKit. The new software framework is designed to further advancements in medicine by enabling researchers to easily create apps and turn the iPhone and HealthKit into diagnostic tools.
The ResearchKit allows iPhone users to participate in medical research studies and add to a growing pool of health data, explained Jeff Williams, SVP of operations at Apple. Given that the company has sold more than 7 million iPhones, such a tool has great implications for the future of healthcare research as it accesses medical data collected from apps developed within the ResearchKit framework.
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Apple has also shaken up the design of its MacBook and found a way to make it thinner than ever. In its most recent design, Apple abandoned conventional ports and keyboard structure to create the thinnest and lightest MacBook to date. It weighs 2 lbs. and measures 13.1mm at its thickest point.
"Can you see it?" said Cook, holding the tiny laptop. "I can't even feel it!"
Apple Watch took center stage for the last portion of the event. The newest product in wearable tech enables users to send and receive taptic messages, pay with Apple Pay, receive phone calls, view photos, control music, interact with Siri, and keep current on health data such as heart rate, calories burned, time spent sitting, and miles walked or run.
Watch wearers will have access to a host of apps that have been undergoing development since the WatchKit SDK was released in November 2014. Apple's Kevin Lynch demonstrated how the watch could be used to access flight and hotel room information, order an Uber car, or send picture messages. It can also reportedly be used to scan through airport security or into a hotel room.
Apple, once again, gave tech fans plenty to discuss. On the following pages you'll learn more about the details, prices, and release dates for the apps and devices that Apple unveiled Monday. Once you've reviewed the news, share your thoughts with us in the comments section below. Will you be buying a new MacBook or Apple Watch next month?
HBO announced its new standalone Internet streaming service, HBO Now, on March 9. For $14.99 per month, Apple users can stream their favorite past or present HBO original programming without subscribing to a traditional cable or satellite service. The deal is currently exclusive to Apple products, but HBO is also talking with other digital partners to offer its service, reports The New York Times. Those who subscribe to HBO Now in April will receive their first month free, just in time for the new season of Game of Thrones.
ResearchKit is a software framework intended to help medical researchers who often face challenges in recruiting participants for health studies and collecting mass quantities of health data. Researchers can use the platform to easily create apps and turn the iPhone and HealthKit into diagnostic tools. Through the apps, iPhone users can participate in medical research studies. For example, an app that tests for Parkinson's disease can measure a person's gait by using the device's gyroscope and accelerator, or observe hand tremors by having the person tap on the screen.
Apple teamed up with multiple hospitals to create the first ResearchKit apps, which focus on conditions including diabetes, asthma, breast cancer, Parkinson's, and cardiovascular disease. ResearchKit will be available as open source next month, and the first five apps are available for use today.
The newest addition to Apple's MacBook lineup is also its smallest. The 12-inch MacBook has been trimmed down to two pounds and measures 13.1-mm at its thickest point, making it the slimmest offering, by 24%, of all Apple's notebooks, according to the company. The edge-to-edge retina display features a 2304x1440 resolution, and provides the same level of brightness as other retina displays, but it uses 30% less energy.
So how did Apple develop such a thin MacBook? Well, the machine got a complete overhaul. The edge-to-edge keyboard contains keys that use a "butterfly" mechanism that is 40% thinner than conventional scissor switches and four times as stable, said Apple's Phil Schiller.
The MacBook also contains a new Force Touch trackpad, which has four sensors and differentiates between light and "forced" clicks. Deeper clicks unlock certain features. For example, force-clicking on a date and time provides a shortcut to adding a calendar entry.
A logic board that's 67% smaller than its predecessor is powered by an Intel Core M processor, which runs at 1.1GHz. Surrounding the logic board and Force Touch trackpad are batteries that are layered and contoured to fit in the tiny space. The laptop packs enough battery life for 9 hours of wireless Internet browsing.
All of Apple's MacBook Air devices will receive performance and battery upgrades with new fifth-generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processors. Thirteen-inch models will receive faster flash storage, and both the 11-inch and 13-inch models will receive Thunderbolt 2 upgrades.
Health and fitness was a primary theme of Apple's day of announcements, and the Apple Watch was no exception. The watch is designed to measure activity levels throughout the day. It keeps track of calories burned, how many minutes of brisk exercise have been completed, and how often its wearer has taken a break from sitting down. It even provides reminders to those who have been sedentary too long that it's time to get up and stretch. Each week, the watch uses the wearer's fitness history to set activity goals and make improvements.
The Apple Watch adds a physical element to digital communication by gently tapping its wearer's wrist with incoming messages. Users can send taps, drawings, voice messages, texts, and even their heartbeats to others wearing Apple Watch.
The WatchKit SDK, released in November 2014, has enabled developers to create a host of apps for Apple Watch. These apps aim to simplify multiple aspects of daily life. Swiping the watch's tiny face provides instant access to the stock market, sports scores, Twitter trends, flight information, Siri, and chat notifications.
Users can tap and pay using Apple Watch, scan through airport security, call an Uber car, control music, and bypass the hotel front desk to scan into their room using the device.
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