The Apple Watch Hit Shelves 10 Years Ago Today, Changing the Way We Look at Our Wrist
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The original Apple Watch first hit shelves in the United States and eight other countries ten years ago today. First unveiled at Apple’s annual iPhone event on September 9, 2014, the OG Apple Watch became available for pre-order on April 10, 2015, and began arriving in stores — and eager customers’ hands — on April 24, 2015.
“Apple Watch begins a new chapter in the way we relate to technology and we think our customers are going to love it,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO in the press release that announced the availability of the device. “We can’t wait for people to start wearing Apple Watch to easily access information that matters, to interact with the world, and to live a better day by being more aware of their daily activity than ever before.”
“Conceived, designed and developed as a singular product, Apple Watch merges 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’ve created three beautifully curated collections with a software architecture that together enable unparalleled personalization in a wearable device.”
The original Apple Watch was available in two sizes, 38 mm and 42 mm, and three separate models. The aluminum Apple Watch Sport was priced at $349 and $399 for the two sizes, the stainless steel Apple Watch ran from $549 to $1,099, depending on the choice of case and band, and the gold Apple Watch Edition started at a staggering $10,000. The Apple Watch Edition was “crafted” from custom rose or yellow 18-karat gold alloys.
The OG Apple Watch offered (and still does offer) personalized watch faces, ranging from traditional analog faces (like the Chronograph) to the Modular face (which offered several bits of information at a glance) and a Motion face that displayed animated butterflies and jellyfish. In the ten years since, several new faces have been made available, allowing users to customize how they want their Apple Watch face to look.
Perhaps the most impressive features of the Apple Watch have been the health and safety features that have been added over the years, features that have actually saved lives. The original Apple Watch’s heart rate monitor and accelerometer allowed the watch to track the wearer’s activities, displaying the now familiar three rings measuring active calories burned, activity, and how often the wearer stood up. Earlier this month, Apple announced that today, April 24, would mark “Global Close Your Rings Day” — with commemorative pins available in Apple Stores around the world.
Over the least ten years, several other health and fitness features have been added, including the ability to perform an ECG, which can warn the user of possible atrial fibrillation issues, fall detection, sleep apnea detection and notification, crash detection, Emergency SOS, and more.
We’ve published numerous stories over the years about how the Apple Watch has helped save lives, often by alerting users of health issues they weren’t aware of, like heart problems and even cancer. The early detection allowed them to seek medical attention earlier than they otherwise would have.
In one incident, the Apple Watch’s ECG saved a mom and her unborn baby, and a Canadian firefighter was rescued from a heart attack. The blood oxygen sensor alerted a Cleveland man to life-threatening blood clots. The Apple Watch’s health sensors have also helped detect potentially harmful conditions such as atrial fibrillation, myocardial ischemia, ventricular bigeminy, and supraventricular tachycardia. It has also alerted wearers to signs of blood clots, erupted ulcers, and kidney failure.
In the future, we can expect several other health and safety features to be added to the Apple Watch, including the ability to measure blood pressure and even possibly non-invasive blood glucose monitoring.
The Apple Watch’s crash detection and Emergency SOS features have also saved several lives, contacting emergency services even when crash victims were otherwise unable to do so.
I’ve worn an Apple Watch since it was released, after several years of no longer wearing a watch, as I checked the time on my iPhone. The Apple Watch changed that, thanks to its features that allowed me to check the time, weather, notifications, and more, all without needing to take my iPhone out of my pocket. Now that I’m older and have developed health issues, the Apple Watch helps me monitor my health, even providing the information to my medical team if I wish to do so.
The Apple Watch has truly been an excellent addition to the Apple device lineup, and it will continue to be a valuable and life-improving tool for Apple users for many years to come. Happy 10th Birthday Apple Watch, here’s to many more!
