Have Apple Watch questions? Apple's guided tour videos provide the answers - ZDNet

Summary:The Apple Watch launches in a few weeks, but given the new user interaction and controls there are still many questions about how it really works. Apple’s new video are very helpful and informative.

The upcoming Apple Watch is a new product for Apple with a rather unique smartwatch user interface. To help potential buyers, Apple started posting new guided tour videos.

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It looks like ten videos are planned with three currently available for your viewing. The three available now include messages, watch faces, and digital touch. I was unable to play them on my Chromebook so watched them on my iPhone 6 Plus.

I learned quite a bit in the messages video, especially in regards to how the digital crown works in partnership with the touchscreen. There seems to be a lot of bouncing around between the two interaction methods, which makes tutorial videos like this even more important to consumers.

The remaining seven videos include phone calls, Siri, maps, music, Apple Pay, activity, and workout.

Even though I plan to purchase an Apple Watch, primarily because I am a fan of wearables and want to write about my experiences here, I found these videos very useful and informative. They are exactly what people need as we get closer to the Apple Watch release as they answer many questions I had about how everything works.

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  Apple Watch

  
  

  Apple has finally released its newest product line – the Apple Watch. This, the company claims, it its most personal device to date. Let’s take a look at what this new product has to offer.

  
  

  See also:

  
  

  • Apple Watch: Things we need to know
  
  
  • Apple Watch: Here are five business models it will disrupt
  
  
  • Developer gets Android Wear to work with the iPhone
  
  
  
  


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  The lineup

  
  

  The Apple Watch comes in three different varieties:

  
  

  • Apple Watch Sport – The cheapest offering, featuring an anodized aluminum cases in silver or space gray with a toughened Ion-X glass display and a polymer strap.
  
  
  • Apple Watch – Stainless steel cases in traditional and space black finishes and featuring a sapphire display and a range of bands and straps.
  
  
  • Apple Watch Edition – 18-karat gold cases in yellow or rose and featuring a sapphire display and a range of bands and straps.
  
  
  
  


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  Apple Watch Sport

  
  

  Comes in two sizes:

  
  

  • 38mm – $ 349
  
  
  • 42mm – $ 399
  
  
  
  


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  Apple Watch

  
  

  Comes in two sizes:

  
  

  • 38mm – $ 549 to $ 1,049 depending on strap option
  
  
  • 42mm – $ 599 to $ 1,099 depending on strap option
  
  
  
  


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  Apple Watch Edition

  
  

  Priced from $ 10K rising to a whopping $ 17,000 depending on the band, the Apple Watch Edition will be available from selected outlets.

  
  
  
  


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  Metallurgy

  
  

  The aluminum used to make Apple Watch Sport is 60 percent stronger than standard alloys, while the stainless steel used to make the cases is up to 80 percent harder through a specialized cold-forging process.

  
  
  
  


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  Battery life

  
  

  Apple is saying that the Apple Watch has an 18-hour battery life, which means nightly charging using the snap-on inductive charger.

  
  

  No word on how much real-world usage users can expect from the device.

  
  
  
  


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  Availability

  
  

  The Apple Watch will be available for pre-order and preview from April 10 in the following territories, with the product starting to ship April 24:

  
  

  • Australia
  
  
  • Canada
  
  
  • China
  
  
  • France
  
  
  • Germany
  
  
  • Hong Kong
  
  
  • Japan
  
  
  • United Kingdom
  
  
  • United States
  
  
  
  


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  iPhone needed

  
  

  The Apple Watch is not a standalone device, and needs an iPhone to work its magic. In fact, it offloads much of the hard work onto the iPhone in order to extend battery life.

  
  
  
  


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  Customizable

  
  

  The Apple Watch will feature a highly-customizable face, allowing it to display a wide range of information.

  
  
  
  


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  Health and fitness

  
  

  The Apple Watch puts a lot of emphasis on health and fitness, with motion trackers that monitor your movements and a heartrate monitor to keep an eye on that side of things.

  
  
  
  


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  Make and receive calls…

  
  

  … all from your wrist! You can finally talk to your wristwatch!

  
  

  Wearers will also be able to send and receive iMessages, as well as emails and communications from other apps.

  
  
  
  


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  Novel communication methods

  
  

  The Apple watch introduces novel communications methods using sketches and even sending heartbeats.

  
  
  
  


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  Siri

  
  

  The Apple Watch leverages Siri so you can dictate messages, create appointments and much more. This means that you don’t have to peck away at a microscopic keyboard!

  
  
  
  


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  Apple Pay

  
  

  Apple has integrated the convenience of Apple Pay directly into the Apple Watch, making it even easier to use.

  
  
  
  


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  It’s all about apps

  
  

  With the Apple Watch wearers will be able to show boarding passes, hail cabs using Uber, unlock hotel doors, scroll through Instagram and much more.

  
  
  
  

Technology – Google News

Have Apple Watch questions? Apple's guided tour videos provide the answers - ZDNet