Apple Watch Features Navigation Tool Called Digital Crown

Posted on September 9, 2014

Apple Watch Unveiled

Apple unveiled its new Apple Watch device today at a press conference led by Apple CEO Tim Cook. Cook says the watch is accurate to within 50 milliseconds. He also says it is very customizable. The watch works with iPhone models, starting with the iPhone 5 and up.

The watch, which has a face about the size of a standard watch, is a very small surface to work with. In the past people have primarily just stared at the faces of watches and have not used them as a digital screen featuring a variety of inputs. The Apple Watch screen is touch sensitive and can be swiped to change the display, but because of its small size Apple felt its digital watch needed a new type of interface, so it created a navigational tool it calls Digital Crown.

Apple says the crown is the "most revolutionary" navigation tool is has developed since the iPod's Click Wheel and the multi-touch surface on the iPhone. You can scroll and zoom by rotating the Crown. Pushing in the crown will take you to the home screen. This was a clever design feature that will make it easy for people to quickly scroll through different screens and return to the watch's home screen. The Crown will clearly need to be able to withstand heavy use by the wearer.

Developers will be able to develop unique apps for the watch starting next year. There will likely be plenty of apps available for the watch once it goes on sale. Some users might want an app to replace the tongue waving emoji that Gizmodo discovered. The emoji is part of a real-time emoji editor that lets you alter emoji smiles usig your finger.

The Apple Watch includes Apple's Siri technology, which lets you dictate messages, get directions and more. It also has a "Taptic Engine" that Apple says "taps you on the wrist" to let you know when you have a new alert or notification.

The watch also features a heart rate sensor, GPS, and accelerometer to measure body activity. It comes with an app that measures calories burned and how long you stand each day. These features will help the new Apple Watch compete with the growing fitness and health tracking devices market.

The Apple Watch will be available in early 2015. Pricing will start at $349. There will be three models available: Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition. There will be different straps available for each model. The Apple Watch Edition model has an 18-karat rose or yellow gold case.

Image: Apple



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