As expected and long awaited, Apple today presented its new line of smartwatches! Before, however, some interesting information about the operations of the company itself was shared.
Speaking of the company's stores, for example, Tim Cook (Apple's CEO) reported that they now receive 500 million people a year, in all. And they have a very important role for Apple to reach the magnificent number of 2,000,000,000 devices running iOS, something that will happen very soon! But the time has come to talk about the first product presented at today's special event: the Apple Watch.
Cook said the company is delighted with the growth of the Apple Watch in such a short space of time that it is the # 1 watch in the world today, not only in smartwatches. The three pillars of the Apple Watch are connectivity, fitness and health. The simple monitoring of the device's heartbeat has already changed and saved the lives of some people. Apple receives many statements from consumers about it, including. And the time has come to take this forward with the Apple Watch Series 4.
“Everything about him has been rethought and improved. And just beautiful! ” Jeff Williams, executive responsible for presenting the new watch to the world. The canvases now go to the frame, with curved corners. They are 35% and 32% higher than before, respectively much more than expected. In this new generation, there are two models, one 40mm and the other 44mm (thinner than before and with reduced overall volume).
With so much space, you can add favorite contacts, multiple time zones or even create a display all focused on fitness / health. Several interfaces have been redesigned to take advantage of this new screen. There are also new complications for dials, in addition to the new dial with eight complications in all. The Breathe app (Breathe) has also been improved and is now available as a display, with three visual variations.
The modular display has also been improved with more information and integrations, including from third-party apps, and we also have new dynamic displays, which adapt to the new screen size and exploit the fact that it goes to the edges of the box (with lots of animations and cool effects).
THE Digital Crown uses new engineering, with haptic feedback, and the Apple Watch speaker has also been redesigned, now 50% louder to hear Siri's responses, for example. The microphone is now on the other side of the speaker, below the Digital Crown, so that its operation is optimized. The bottom of the Watch is all made of black ceramics and sapphire crystal (farewell made of composite material), which optimizes cell reception and other sensors, too.
Inside the clock we have the S4 chip, now dual-core 64-bit and up to 2x faster than before, and a new generation of accelerometer and gyroscope with more capabilities and more accurate measurements. Thanks to that, the Apple Watch now detects when people fall and can call for help automatically and instantly! Apple said it captured a lot of data from real falls to improve the system and even analyzed the responses that our bodies give when we go forward or slide back. The watch knows how to differentiate them and, if it identifies a problematic fall for the user, it automatically calls the emergency number.
On the back of the watch, there are three new heart features, starting with a notification if your heart rate is too low; the second feature has to do with heart rate (Watch alerts the user when it detects atrial fibrillation, if it crosses information that can lead to this problem); these first two features are based on the optical sensor, but the third explores a new sensor based on electrodes: electrocardiogram (ECG)! Yes, this is the first ECG sold directly to consumers, as a mass product and that can help to detect other diseases and heart conditions.
To do this, just open an app, put your finger on Digital Crown and wait for the ECG reading, which lasts about 30 seconds only. At the end of the ECG, the app tells the user if everything is normal or if something is wrong. And that is stored in the history of the Sade app (Health), which can then be shared with doctors.
Apple has already received endorsement from Food and Drug Administration in the United States for the new Watch is the first type certification ("Again") issued by the FDA. These news will be available to American consumers this year and will be taken to consumers in other countries little by little. It is worth noting that the data generated by the Apple Watch is completely private (all fitness and health data are encrypted).
The watch battery keeps the same promise of 18h for the whole day, with a slight improvement for activities billboard (now, until 6 am). The new watch is also all manufactured in an environmentally friendly manner.
Here are the introduction videos for the Apple Watch Series 4:
The Apple Watch Series 4 has three colors in aluminum finish (space gray, silver and gold), stainless steel (also in the same colors, a new golden color). It is worth noting that, even with the increase in size, the wristbands that everyone already has will continue to work perfectly on the Apple Watch Series 4.
Nike + has also been optimized for the Series 4, with improved dials. There is a new bracelet that reflects the night too, for those who like to run at night. Herms' exclusive line also continues with new designs for the Series 4 generation. The watch starts at $ 399 with GPS and $ 499 with cellular connectivity. The Series 3 continues to sell, starting at $ 279.
The Apple Watch Series 4 goes on sale in the United States this Friday, the 14th, and arrives in stores a week later, on the 21st.
