The original Apple Watch first launched in the United States and eight other countries a decade ago today. Unveiled at Apple’s annual iPhone event on September 9, 2014, the first Apple Watch became available for pre-order on April 10, 2015, and started arriving in stores and customers’ hands on April 24, 2015.
“Apple Watch begins a new chapter in the way we interact with technology, and we believe our customers will love it,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO in the press release announcing the device’s availability. “We are excited for people to start wearing Apple Watch to easily access important information, interact with the world, and live a better day by being more aware of their daily activity than ever before.”
“Conceived, designed, and developed as a single product, Apple Watch combines hardware and software like never before,” said Jony Ive, Apple’s senior vice president of Design at the time, in the same press release. “In Apple Watch, we have created three beautifully curated collections with a software architecture that allows unparalleled personalization in a wearable device.”
The original Apple Watch came in two sizes, 38mm and 42mm, and three models. The aluminum Apple Watch Sport was priced at $349 and $399 for the two sizes, the stainless steel Apple Watch ranged from $549 to $1,099, depending on the case and band choice, and the gold Apple Watch Edition started at $10,000 and was crafted from custom rose or yellow 18-karat gold alloys.
The OG Apple Watch offered personalized watch faces, including traditional analog faces like the Chronograph, the Modular face displaying multiple bits of information at a glance, and a Motion face with animated butterflies and jellyfish. In the years following, new faces were introduced, allowing users to customize their Apple Watch face.
One of the standout features of the Apple Watch has been its health and safety capabilities, which have expanded over time and have even saved lives. The original Apple Watch’s heart rate monitor and accelerometer tracked the wearer’s activities, showing three rings measuring active calories burned, activity, and standing frequency. Earlier this month, Apple announced “Global Close Your Rings Day” to celebrate the device’s impact on users’ health.
Additional health and fitness features have been added over the years, such as ECG functionality, fall detection, sleep apnea detection, crash detection, Emergency SOS, and more. The Apple Watch has been credited with alerting users to health issues like heart problems and cancer, enabling them to seek medical attention promptly.
The future of the Apple Watch promises more health and safety features, including blood pressure measurement and potentially non-invasive blood glucose monitoring. The device’s crash detection and Emergency SOS capabilities have also been instrumental in saving lives by automatically contacting emergency services in critical situations.
As a longtime Apple Watch wearer, I have experienced the device’s evolution from simply telling time to monitoring health and providing essential information without needing to access my iPhone. The Apple Watch has undoubtedly enhanced the Apple product lineup and will continue to be a valuable tool for users in the years ahead. Happy 10th Birthday, Apple Watch, here’s to many more!
