Back in September, Apple officially unveiled its smartwatch line, simply called Apple Watch, but omitted some crucial details, leaving them to be answered at a later date. <br /> <br />Well, that date has finally arrived and now Apple has filled in some of the blanks at its March 9 media event in San Francisco. <br /> <br />The new details as of March 9: <br /> <br />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. In Australia the pricing runs AU$499 and AU$579 and that's £299 and £339 in the UK. <br /> <br />Apple Watch (steel case) starts at $549 (38mm) and goes up to $1,049, depending on band. 42mm is $50 more. In Australia the pricing starts at AU$799 and goes to AU$1,629 depending on the band. The UK starts at £479 and runs up to £949. <br /> <br />Apple Watch Edition (18-karat gold case) starts at $10,000, with options ranging all the way to $17,000. That's AU$14,000 to AU$24,000 and from £8,000 up to £13,500 over in the UK. <br /> <br />You can preorder all models starting April 10. Shipping April 24. <br />Global launch. Will be available in several countries, including UK, Australia, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany and France. <br /> <br />Communicates with iPhone over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Can be anywhere in house, not just in Bluetooth range. <br /> <br />iPhone will download apps for Watch via Apple Watch Store. <br /> <br />Designed it with "all-day battery life" across a range of uses. 18 hours in typical day. <br /> <br />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. <br /> <br />Who needs it? <br />When the iPad first debuted, many demeaned it as either a "big iPhone" or a keyboardless laptop, but it managed to stake out its own ground. The Apple Watch will enter the same skeptical marketplace, with an even harder case to make: if it's essentially a dedicated smartphone accessory, is it just a redundant gadget? A lot of people might wonder why they need it. Can the Apple Watch carve out some killer features that make sense to people? Or, is it mainly a fashion accessory with tech appeal? I think it could be at least a year or more before Apple Watch makes sense for most people. Stay tuned for more opinions after Apple's event.
