Apple Watch Launched 10 Years Ago Today

[MacRumors]

Today marks the 10-year anniversary of the original Apple Watch launching in the United States and eight other countries around the world.

The original Apple Watch launched in stores and began arriving to customers on April 24, 2015, after being announced in September 2014.

"Apple Watch begins a new chapter in the way we relate to technology and we think our customers are going to love it," said Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a press release announcing availability of the device. "We can't wait for people to start wearing Apple Watch to easily access information that matters, to interact with the world, and to live a better day by being more aware of their daily activity than ever before," he added.

"Apple Watch merges hardware and software like never before," said Apple's former design chief, Jony Ive, in the same press release.

Impressively, the Apple Watch has helped to save countless lives over the past decade, thanks to health and safety features like heart rate measuring, the ECG app, fall detection, sleep apnea notifications, Emergency SOS, crash detection, and more. These features have alerted many people to conditions like atrial fibrillation, sleep apnea, and even cancer, allowing them to seek medical attention earlier than they would have otherwise.

In several interviews over the years, Cook has said that Apple's greatest contribution to the world will be in the health space, and the Apple Watch is a testament to that. Over the next decade, we can expect even more health features on the Apple Watch, such as blood pressure measuring and potentially even non-invasive blood glucose monitoring.

It is not marketing hype to say that the Apple Watch has made a profound impact on humankind, and it is exciting to think about what the next decade holds.

Article Link: Apple Watch Launched 10 Years Ago Today

 

[DrJR]

first time in a while i can say “seems like much longer than that”… at my age it is more “gee that went fast” for most part. had one since day one and my life is better and healthier for it!

 

[staveb]

Ten years and still no Facetime camera in the Apple Watch. Really missing a trick! I would have guessed this would have arrived about five years ago.

 

[russell_314]

Ten years and still no Facetime camera in the Apple Watch. Really missing a trick! I would have guessed this would have arrived about five years ago.

It’s bad enough people walk around staring at and yelling into their phones. I hope Apple never does this because people will be holding their wrist up in front of their face acting like a doofus 😂

 

[stocklen]

remember they came in gold - multiple thousands of dollars....

Why anyone would have bought that is beyond me. A tech product that was going to be replaced in 12 months and basically unusable in a few short years as software and hardware left it in the dust....

 

[StoneJack]

This is actually happened on Cook's watch and he should be appreciated for his leadership in the field of wearables

 

[Slix]

My dad got the 1st Apple Watch and woke up in the middle of the night to pre-order it. About 3 years later he sold it to me, and I used it for another 3 years. The original watch was slow and my battery was awful by the time I got a Series 6, but it was definitely a good first step! Every so often I charge my original back up and just look at its tiny screen.

 

[StoneJack]

remember they came in gold - multiple thousands of dollars....

Why anyone would have bought that is beyond me. A tech product that was going to be replaced in 12 months and basically unusable in a few short years as software and hardware left it in the dust....

never underestimate the rich.. for them its peanuts and Apple watches even made of gold are cheap compared to Swiss watches

 

[mansplains]

Ten years and still no Facetime camera in the Apple Watch. Really missing a trick! I would have guessed this would have arrived about five years ago.

The new NostrilSight camera! For those FaceTime calls where you’d rather look up someone’s nose

 

[jz0309]

Still my favorite Apple device.
Hope they continue to improve the health sensors etc and not go and bring Apple Intelligence as a “feature”.

 

[iamgalt]

I’ve had the same Apple Watch Series 5 since it first came out, and I use it way more than I thought I would. I’m hoping the next series has some nice improvements. It’s time for me to upgrade.

 

[SoldOnApple]

My Apple Watch Series 1 is so useless, I can't believe how slow it runs.

 

[CharlesShaw]

This means my iPhones have been in silent mode for ten years, as my "series 0" arrived on launch day --in a box the size of a Mac Studio.

 

[attohs]

This means my iPhones have been in silent mode for ten years, as my "series 0" arrived on launch day --in a box the size of a Mac Studio.

It was a lot of fun unboxing the Series 0.

 

[awshucks]

I secured my pin at the Apple Store! I took a 2 hour trip to my local store and waited outside the store to be sure to secure it.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

remember they came in gold - multiple thousands of dollars....

Why anyone would have bought that is beyond me. A tech product that was going to be replaced in 12 months and basically unusable in a few short years as software and hardware left it in the dust....

Do you think anyone actually bought the gold model? I always assumed that Apple handed them out to celebrities and such to garner attention and marketing.

I personally think yellow gold is ugly.

 

[MacFan782040]

And still no custom watch face store.

 

[StuBeck]

remember they came in gold - multiple thousands of dollars....

Why anyone would have bought that is beyond me. A tech product that was going to be replaced in 12 months and basically unusable in a few short years as software and hardware left it in the dust....

There is a reason they only made it once. No one bought it.

 

[Entilzha]

My Apple Watch Series 1 is so useless, I can't believe how slow it runs.

Does it tell the time? Then it still works just fine.

 

[phenste]

remember they came in gold - multiple thousands of dollars....

Why anyone would have bought that is beyond me. A tech product that was going to be replaced in 12 months and basically unusable in a few short years as software and hardware left it in the dust....

and that my friend is what we call a marketing/PR stunt, evidenced by the custom models given to folks like Karl Lagerfeld, Anna Wintour, and Katy Perry (if I had to guess, it was probably an excuse for Ive to feel like he was part of the luxury watchmaking world he missed out on to pursue I.D. chiefly at Apple)

anyway- crazy to think I’ve had one of these for a whole decade. think we can quite confidently say this has been a successful category launch; will always get a chuckle out of seeing Apple Watches on the wrists of folks who laughed at me for having one on launch day. after having a dad who was a day 1 iPhone owner, it was pretty obvious to me the path this product would take. happy to see I wasn’t wrong!

now uh, bring back actual leather watch bands or something, LMAO

 

[woolypants]

I bought one and realised how uncomfortable it was to have a large chunk of glass and metal on my wrist. I realise I'm mostly alone in this, and that Apple's reality distortion field has convinced people otherwise. I'm still waiting for a new model to come out that slims down the design by 50%. It will happen but it's mindblowing that we're 50% of the way into this and it's still essentially the same basic design. The average person on the street would not be able to tell apart the first Apple Watch from the model on sale today.

I remember reaching in somewhere to grab something and the chunky Watch catching on the rim. I realised, yeah, this isn't really practical.

 

[MrENGLISH]

10 years and we still don't have 3rd party watch face support. Thanks, Tim.

 

[MrENGLISH]

I bought one and realised how uncomfortable it was to have a large chunk of glass and metal on my wrist. I realise I'm mostly alone in this, and that Apple's reality distortion field has convinced people otherwise.

People have been wearing watches of all shapes, weight, and sizes long before the Apple Watch came along. If it isn't for you, that's ok. Watches in general aren't for everybody. But to claim people must be brainwashed by Apple to want to wear the Apple Watch is just absurd.

 

[IceCool]

 Time Flies.

 

[JohnApples]

Does it tell the time? Then it still works just fine.

That’s a horrible take, not gonna lie lol. If a device can only reliably do a single function out of the dozens it’s intended to do, I would not, in any sense of the word, say it still works “fine”.

That’s like saying your Smart TV is broken because it doesn’t connect to the internet, load up any apps, or change inputs. then someone comes along and says “can you still get a few local channels via antennae? Then it still works just fine.”