Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Apple's "Spring Forward" Event Debuts Apple Watch and More

Posted by samzenpus on from the here's-what-happened dept.

samzenpus (5) writes There was a lot of news at Apple's Spring Forward keynote today. Here's a list of some of the most eye-catching announcements.
  • HBO Now standalone streaming service coming to Apple TV and iOS apps in early April for $14.99 a month.
  • Lowered price of Apple TV to $69.
  • Apple Pay accepted at up to 100,000 Coca-Cola machines by the end of the year.
  • ResearchKit Announced: Is open source and allows medical researchers to create apps, and use the iPhone as a diagnostic tool.
  • New MacBook: Lightest ever at 2 pounds, 13.1mm at its thickest point. 2304x1440 display, consumes 30% less energy. Fanless, powered with Intel's Core M processor. 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0. and 9 hours of web browsing battery life. Supports many protocols through one connector USB-C. Ships April 10, starting at $1,299.
  • iOS 8.2 is available today
  • Apple Watch: Accurate within 50ms of UTC. Read and delete email, built-in speaker and mic so you can receive calls. It tracks your movement and exercise. Use Apple Pay, play your music, use Siri and get any notification you get on iPhone today. 18 hour battery life in a typical day. Sport model starting at $349, stainless steel price: $549-$1049 for 38mm, 42mm is $599-$1099, and gold edition starting at $10k. Pre-orders begin April 10th, available April 24th.

4 of 529 comments (clear)

  1. Re:It's not THAT much.... by Strider- · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Sure, but regular watches don't become obsolete in 3 years.

    --
    ...si hoc legere nimium eruditionis habes...
  2. Death of Thunderbolt? by glennrrr · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The one thing I found concerning about the new MacBook is that it does away with Thunderbolt. So will there ever be a 5K supporting Thunderbolt connector, or will this be handled by USB-C? And will the charger for the new MacBook have ports on it? Like a mini-display port, USB, or even Ethernet?

  3. Re:Bwahahahahahahwahahahaah by sosume · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It will be really cool to wear in a three years time, when the device is no longer supported for updates. Or in 5 years time, when the batteries are dead, the charger is no longer produced, and the owner realises that it would have been a better investment to buy a real watch for that money. 10k for a watch with a one year warranty, hopefully the owners can afford applecare. Bring out Nelson!

  4. Re:A laptop with almost no ports?! by BasilBrush · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's like saying a sports car should have more luggage space for that price.

    Number of ports isn't the new MacBook's purpose. Thinness and lightness is. And more ports would have prevented that. If you want ports, then you buy a new MacBook Pro.