Apple Watch is unlike any device we’ve ever made. But we wanted interacting with it to be just as easy and intuitive as using your iPhone or working on a Mac. So we invented all-new ways to select, navigate and input that are ideally suited to a smaller device worn on the wrist. The result is an experience that’s both unique to Apple Watch and quintessentially Apple.
Every new product we’ve introduced has been defined by a unique input device. With Apple Watch, it’s the Digital Crown. On mechanical watches, the crown has historically been used to set the time and date and to wind the mainspring. We reimagined it as a versatile tool that answers the fundamental challenge of how to magnify content on a small display. Pinching to zoom, as you do on iPhone, is impractical. But rotating the Digital Crown allows you to zoom and scroll nimbly and precisely, without obstructing your view. You can also push it like a button to return to the Home screen, making it an integral part of the Apple Watch experience.
From the moment you wake the display with a simple raise of the wrist, you’ll be comfortable using Apple Watch. The Watch OS feels amazingly fresh. But it’s visually reminiscent of what you’re used to seeing, and is designed around simple gestures, such as zooming and panning, that already come naturally. Navigation is fluid and responsive. And the arrangement of apps is simple and orderly. We even developed a new typeface to maximise legibility. All of which means you’ll know your way around Apple Watch in virtually no time.
A Retina display is the primary surface for every interaction with Apple Watch. And it’s clear why. The incredibly high pixel density makes numbers and text easy to read at a glance, even while you’re moving. Images and graphics render with remarkable sharpness and contrast, including finely detailed ones like the rotation of a hair-thin second hand on a watch face. And the display is extremely energy efficient, critical for a device you wear throughout the day. On most Apple Watch models, the display is laminated to a machined and polished single crystal of sapphire. Next to diamond, it’s the hardest transparent material. On watches in the Sport collection, protection is provided by strengthened Ion‑X glass.
In addition to recognising touch, Apple Watch senses force, adding a new dimension to the user interface. Force Touch uses tiny electrodes around the flexible Retina display to distinguish between a light tap and a deep press, and trigger instant access to a range of contextually specific controls — such as an action menu in Messages, or a mode that allows you to select different watch faces — whenever you want. It’s the most significant new sensing capability since Multi‑Touch.
Since wristwatches were invented in the 19th century, people have been glancing at them to check the time. With Apple Watch, this simple, reflexive act allows you to learn so much more. We optimised your favourite apps for the wrist by developing Glances — scannable summaries of the information you seek out most frequently. To see them, you simply swipe up from your watch face. In an instant, you can glimpse the weather forecast, check out what’s next on your calendar or find your current location on a map. You can quickly swipe through different Glances, or tap one to go directly to its corresponding app for more details.
Because it’s connected to your iPhone, Apple Watch can present time in a more personal way. One that’s based around your life and schedule. You’ll receive real-time notifications for incoming mail, messages and calls. So you can answer or dismiss them instantly. And since Apple Watch sits on your wrist, your alerts aren’t just immediate. They’re intimate. With a gentle tap, notifications subtly let you know where and when your next meeting starts, what current traffic conditions are like, even when to leave so you’ll arrive on time. At any point, you can simply swipe down to Notification Centre to view what you may have missed.
Having Siri with you at all times means you can access it that much more quickly and conveniently. And be even more spontaneous with your requests. Simply raise your wrist and say “Hey Siri”, or press and hold the Digital Crown to dictate messages, get turn-by-turn directions or stay up to date on your events. You’ll get an instant response to your query.
Events. With Apple Watch always close by, you can easily find out what’s next in your day. Just use your voice.
Turn-by-turn. Getting to your destination is much easier with Apple Watch. Just ask Siri for directions and Maps will guide the way.
Messages. You can send a message without typing a single word. Simply ask Siri to text a contact, and then start dictating.
It’s called the Taptic Engine, a linear actuator inside Apple Watch that produces haptic feedback. In less technical terms, it taps you on the wrist. Whenever you receive an alert or notification, or perform a function like turning the Digital Crown or pressing down on the display, you feel a tactile sensation that’s recognisably different for each kind of interaction. Combined with subtle audio cues from the specially engineered speaker driver, the Taptic Engine creates a discreet, sophisticated and nuanced experience by engaging more of your senses. It also enables some entirely new, intimate ways for you to communicate with other Apple Watch wearers. You can get someone’s attention with a gentle tap. Or even send something as personal as your heartbeat.
The wrist is a convenient area for collecting data about your physical activity, a task Apple Watch is designed to perform throughout the day. On the back of the case, a ceramic cover with sapphire lenses1 protects a specially designed sensor that uses infrared and visible-light LEDs and photodiodes to detect your heart rate. Apple Watch uses this sensor, along with an accelerometer and the GPS and Wi‑Fi in your iPhone, to measure all kinds of physical movement, from simply standing up to actively working out. This allows Apple Watch to provide a comprehensive picture of your daily activity, suggest customised goals and reward you for reaching personal fitness milestones.
Heart rate sensor. The custom heart rate sensor in Apple Watch can help gauge your intensity during workouts to improve overall calorie tracking.
GPS. Apple Watch uses the GPS and Wi‑Fi in your iPhone to help measure the distance you travel during activities that can’t be measured in steps, such as cycling.
Accelerometer. The Apple Watch accelerometer measures total body activity, counts your steps and helps calculate your calories burned throughout the day.
Massive constraints have a way of inspiring interesting, creative solutions. A prime example is the custom-designed chip at the heart of Apple Watch. No traditional computer architecture could fit within such a confined space. So we found a way to integrate many subsystems into one remarkably compact module, which is then completely encapsulated in resin to protect the electronics from the elements, impact and wear. Configuring an entire computer system on a single chip is an industry first and represents a singular feat of engineering and miniaturisation.
As familiar as wearing a watch is, charging one is something new. So we decided to make it utterly effortless. In fact, our goal was to make Apple Watch easy to charge in the dark. Without looking. While being only partially awake. We arrived at a solution that combines our MagSafe technology with inductive charging. It’s a completely sealed system free of exposed contacts. And it’s very forgiving, requiring no precise alignment. You simply hold the connector near the back of the watch, where magnets cause it to snap into place automatically.
See every Apple Watch