On Monday, Apple will officially launch the Apple Watch, its first completely new product since the iPad was introduced in 2010 as well as its first major launch under CEO Tim Cook. Gigaom will be covering what Apple has in store live from the Yerba Buena Center on Monday.
But Apple actually introduced us to the Apple Watch back in September, and since then, Cook has spoken about the smartwatch several times in public. When he gets on stage in San Francisco on Monday to introduce Apple’s “most personal device ever,” some of what he’s going to cover will be new, and some of it he will have said prior, during the past six months as he’s been honing his Apple Watch pitch.
Here’s what to expect from Apple Watch, from Tim Cook, the boss of Apple himself (read it in a smooth-as-molasses southern drawl.)
On features
I use mine to control my Apple TV. Another member of the team loves to use theirs as a viewfinder for their iPhone camera. Still another loves the walkie-talkie ability.
iPhone 6 keynote, September 2014
And so I constantly use Siri with my watch, and ask different things, and all of a sudden, y’know, it’s just there. You can do things like get notifications across your watch.
And if you’re interested in keeping up with the sports score to the financial markets to whatever it is, it’s like this, the Watch knows you’re looking at it, and it comes on. If I’m not looking at it, the Watch is off.
I sit for too long, it will actually tap me on the wrist to remind me to get up and move. Because a lot of doctors believe that sitting is the new cancer, right? And arguably activity is good for all of us. And so if you haven’t moved within the hour, ten minutes before the hour it’ll tap you.
And I think one of the biggest surprises people are going to have when they start using it is the breadth of what it will do.
Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, February 2015
And so with a Bluetooth headset, you can run and listen to your music without your iPhone.
Interview with Charlie Rose, September 2014
You can make a call from the Watch… You can interface with Siri. Siri with this point comes back in a textual mode, but we’d like to do something different with that over time. But it’s cool for all of us, but I think it is going to be profound for some people.
Comments at Berlin Apple Store, reported by 9to5Mac, February 2015
The watch is designed to be able to replace car keys and the clumsy, large fobs that are now used by many vehicles, Cook told The Telegraph.
Reported by The Telegraph, February 2015
On accuracy
We set out to make the best watch in the world, one that is precise, it’s synchronized with the universal time standard and it’s accurate within plus or minus 50 milliseconds.
iPhone 6 keynote, September 2014
On needing an iPhone
It requires an iPhone, yes, because they’ve been designed to work together… however, if you go for a run, and you don’t want to carry your iPhone, music is also in your watch.
Interview with Charlie Rose, September 2014
Apple Watch requires the iPhone because it’s been designed to seamlessly work together, like with Handoff where you might read an email on your watch and then respond to it on the iPhone, the email appears right in the lock screen of your iPhone.
iPhone 6 keynote, September 2014
On health and fitness
So if you’re just someone who wants to be a bit more active, or maybe you just want to track what you’re doing during the day, or perhaps you exercise regularly, or even if you are a very serious athlete, Apple Watch helps you live a better day.
We have two new applications in Apple Watch. The first is the fitness app. The fitness app monitors all of your activity and movement throughout the day. And the second is the workout app. The workout app allows you to set specific goals for specific types of workouts, like cycling or running.
iPhone 6 keynote, September 2014
So this is yet another way to begin to build a comprehensive view of your life, which should empower you to take care of yourself over time, and when you need help, it empowers you to take certain data to your doctor to get help from them.
Interview with Charlie Rose, September 2014
Apple Watch… also includes comprehensive health and fitness apps that can help people lead healthier lives.
Internal memo, September 2014
I use it in the gym constantly to track my activity level, my exercise, how long I’m exercising.
Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, February 2015
On charging
We’re using inductive charging, it has a magnet and it aligns perfectly to the back of the watch, it is so simple and elegant.
iPhone 6 keynote, September 2014
We think people are going to use it so much you will end up charging it daily.
Interview at Wall Street Journal conference, October 2014
On how Apple Watch is like the iPod
If you think about the, for those of you can remember, the MP3 industry, before the iPod — we weren’t the first company to make an MP3…. And so I see the smartwatch category very much like that. There are several things that are called “smartwatches” that are shipping, but I’m not sure you could name any. Maybe you could. I’m not sure the audience could name very many. But certainly there’s been none that have changed the way people live their lives.
Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, February 2015
On apps
Now as we showed you last month, we have been working with selected third-party developers on Apple Watch. Like BMW, like American Airlines, like Starwood, and they’ve created some really unique personal experiences for Apple Watch.
Apple Special Event, October 2014
Developers are hard at work on apps, notifications, and information summaries that we call Glances, all designed specifically for the Watch’s user interface.
My expectations are very high on it. I’m using it every day, and loving it, and I can’t live without it. And so I see that we’re making great progress on the development of it. The number of developers that are writing apps for it are impressive and we’re seeing some incredible innovation coming out there.
Apple Q1 earnings conference call, January 2015
On why it’s not a pair of glasses
We always thought that glasses were not a smart move, from a point of view that people would not really want to wear them. They were intrusive, instead of pushing technology to the background, as we’ve always believed.
Comments reported by the New Yorker, February 2015
On Apple Watch being Apple’s most personal device ever
Apple Watch is the most personal device Apple has ever created.
iPhone 6 keynote, September 2014
The next chapter for us is about personal devices, about something that’s even more personal than what we had before. And I think the watch is a great place to start that.
Interview with Bloomberg, September 2014
And of course, we unveiled our most personal device ever with Apple Watch.
Internal memo, September 2014
The second new category [after Apple Pay] is Apple Watch, our most personal device ever
Apple Q4 earnings conference call, October 2014
Of course, I am talking about Apple Watch. It’s the most personal device we’ve ever created.
Apple special event, October 2014
In September, we gave a glimpse of the future with Apple Watch, our most personal device ever.
Internal memo, December 2014
On early sales and expectations
(Apple Watch revenue will be reported in the same category as Accessories, iPods, Apple TV, and Beats) But for now, in Q1, we’re not shipping any iPhone — excuse me, Apple Watches. And so it seems appropriate to start it that way. It also — to be also straight, is — I’m not very anxious in reporting a lot of numbers on Apple Watch, because of the — and giving a lot of detail on it because our competitors are looking for it. And so aggregating it is helpful from that point of view, as well.
Apple Q4 earnings conference call, October 2014
With things that are new, it’s not like a movie, where you can look at that first weekend and draw the line… What did the iPhone do on the first weekend? You don’t remember. Does it matter?
Interview with Bloomberg, September 2014
On price
Apple Watch starts at only $349.
iPhone 6 keynote, September 2014
I think $349 is an incredibly low price for the value that we’re delivering.
Interview with Bloomberg, September 2014
