Apple Watch: My In-Store Demo - InformationWeek

The first shipment of Apple Watches reached eager owners on April 24. We stopped at an Apple Store in New York City to test one out.
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It's official: The Apple Watch has made its public debut. Starting today, you'll be seeing its early customers talking to their wrists, sending heartbeats, tapping Watches at checkout or jogging in style. You'll also see them on display in stores like the one in New York's Grand Central Terminal, where we went to get a sneak peek of the wearable.

The Watch is largely supported by the iPhone, which is required to achieve the full extent of the smartwatch's functionality. Like iPhone, it will support a range of third-party apps designed to boost everyday convenience for consumers and businesses alike.

Reviews for the Apple Watch have been mixed so far. While testers seem to agree that it's the best smartwatch on the market in terms of design and construction, there are quite a few flaws in the first iteration that Apple will hopefully address in future updates. Reviewers speak to buggy apps and less-than-desirable battery life.

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Apple started accepting preorders for the wearable on April 10, and demand was great enough to push back shipping times to July. Analysts estimate that almost one million people have placed orders for the pricey smartwatch.

If you decide that a Watch is on your shopping list -- and you're prepared to wait -- you'll have to hop online. Angela Ahrendts, Apple's retail chief, stated that the company will be exclusively selling Apple Watch online through June. 

While it won't be available for sale in Apple Stores, the smartwatch can be found in boutiques located in major cities around the globe. Paris, London, Tokyo, Berlin, and Los Angeles are among the lucky few; sadly, New York was not.

In typical Apple fashion, the Watch doesn't come cheap. The least expensive version, Watch Sport, costs $349 for a 38mm face and $399 for 42mm. Most people who preordered Apple Watch opted for the Sport; the rest selected Apple Watch, which starts at $549 and runs up to $1,099 for certain models.

After testing it, I can safely say that Apple Watch has a lot of potential. Sure, version 1.0 has room for improvement, but overall I found it to be a comfortable, sleek and useful device. Click through to "Watch" what happened during my first hands-on experience with Apple's wearable.

Kelly is an associate editor for InformationWeek. She most recently reported on financial tech for Insurance & Technology, before which she was a staff writer for InformationWeek and InformationWeek Education. When she's not catching up on the latest in tech, Kelly enjoys ... View Full Bio
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