Apple Watch Revealed with New Activity, Fitness and Workout Functions

Apple has unveiled the Apple Watch at its headquarters in California this week. The new wearable device uses Activity, Fitness and Workout apps to keep the wearer active and healthy.

The Apple Watch, unveiled this week at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California, has a wide variety of new functions, which were presented by the company on Tuesday after months of anticipation. The new wrist-worn device comes with countless new features that are unique to Apple and include integrated fitness tracking.

The new functions include Apple's own Activity, Fitness and Workout apps. The Activity app is designed to motivate users to be more active, while the Workout app provides them with the data they need during their workout sessions. The Fitness app collects metrics to provide users with more details about their activity and has a number of interesting features. For one, it can tell users how active they have been in the last hour. For another, it can remind them that it is time to take a minute to stand up. The new apps can create realistic personalised goals for users and even reward them with various fitness milestones to motivate them to stay active.

The apps will use the watch's accelerometer, gyroscope, and heart rate monitor, as well as the GPS system integrated in the iPhone to provide users with new ways to improve their fitness levels and health. The watch has sensors that, when placed against the wearer's wrist, collect heart rate and other data.

The Apple Watch will collect data from the sensors, the accelerometer, and also GPS and Wi-Fi data from the iPhone, to track the wearer's movement and activity levels throughout the day. The data will be displayed in three rings: the Move ring for general movement, the Exercise ring for workouts, and a Stand ring to remind the wearer to stand up during the day. Users will be able to create workout goals based on calories burned or distance and see their progress at any point during the exercise.

The Apple Watch requires an iPhone for most functions and connects to it using Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11b/g. The device is designed to seamlessly work with Apple's handset and can even be used as a remote control for an Apple TV set top box.

Along with the fitness options, the Apple Watch will have a bunch of other notable features, including support for secure Apple Pay transactions, support for Apple's voice-controlled personal assistant Siri, and a unique new touch screen that the company calls the "Force Touch," which can sense the difference between a tap and a press. The watch also has a so-called "Taptic Engine," a feedback engine that uses a linear vibrating motor to allow discreet alerts only to the wearer. Another interesting feature, the Digital Touch, will use the Taptic Engine to send drawn messages, small pictures, or even the wearer's heart rate data to friends.

Also new is the "digital crown," a physical dial made of sapphire glass that acts as the home button and allows users to interact with the watch without touching the screen. The Apple Watch is plug-free and will be recharged using a special magnetic attachment that connects to the device.

The new WatchKit API will provide developers with tools to create their own third-party apps for the watch. These tools will be made available next year.

Apple has given the Apple Watch a universal design, which is a result of collaboration with horological experts around the world to better understand the culture and history of watches. The Apple Watch will be available with six different straps, including a classic leather buckle type, leather loop with embedded magnets, stainless steel, stainless steel mesh with magnetic closure, leather band, and an elastomer-based sport band, designed to keep up with fitness enthusiasts. The watch will come in two sizes and three collections: the Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Sport, and the Apple Watch Edition, made of 18-karat gold.

The Apple Watch is compatible with the iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S, and the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which will be released on September 19.

The Apple Watch will be available in early 2015 with the starting price of $349. Pricing for the Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition has not been announced yet.