Apple launches smartwatch

The launching of Apple's first new product class in four years has divided critics.

CEO Tim Cook sought to prove that "innovation is alive and well" at Apple this week by launching the tech giant's first new product class in four years.

Apart from two new iPhone models with larger screens, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, consumers will be able to buy an Apple Watch next year. This is meant to be a lightweight complement to the iPhone, with many of the latter's apps, and it is also a fitness and health monitor.

Apple has also introduced Apple Pay, a digital payment service allowing users to make purchases by waving an iPhone in front of a reader. Ultimately, digital payment might imply the end of credit cards.

What the commentators said

Apple's eagerly anticipated press conference was a damp squib, reckoned Chris Owen on Telegraph.co.uk and not just because of the "terrible live streaming" and performance from U2. "It was all a little me too'."

Making smartphones bigger, digital wallets and smartwatches are areas that have already been explored by competitors. "The one area where there isn't an existing competitor is in sending your heartbeat to another wearer of a smartwatch however, this isn't a problem that is actually waiting to be solved."

708_watch-300

You may wonder why anyone with a computer in their pocket would need one on their wrist. Then again, I've never believed that anyone really needs an iPad yet Apple has sold over 100 million of them. Apple managed to persuade people that they wanted them.

The Apple Watch "looks highly wantable". And given that millions of people still spend huge sums on stylish watches that do little more than tell the time, they could well splash out for "a stylish watch that provides several kinds of useful information".

Recommended

The top funds to invest in
Funds

The top funds to invest in

As market volatility and recessionary fears continue, here are the most popular funds, stocks and trusts investors are putting their money into
2 Mar 2023
The ten highest dividend yields in the FTSE 100
Income investing

The ten highest dividend yields in the FTSE 100

Rupert Hargreaves takes a look at the companies with the highest dividend yields in the UK’s blue-chip index
27 Feb 2023
The outlook for Shell shares is mixed, despite bumper profits
Energy stocks

The outlook for Shell shares is mixed, despite bumper profits

With profits surging, it looks as if Shell is on a roll, but the company’s growth from here is hard to see as Rupert Hargreaves explains.
6 Feb 2023
The top ten dividend stocks in the FTSE 250
Share tips

The top ten dividend stocks in the FTSE 250

The average FTSE 250 dividend yield is around 4%, but many stocks yield much more. Rupert Hargreaves picks the best FTSE 250 stocks for income investo…
17 Jan 2023

Most Popular

Rightmove: UK house prices up £3,000 as property market rebounds
House prices

Rightmove: UK house prices up £3,000 as property market rebounds

Rightmove’s latest house price index shows the property market has been resilient despite an economic downturn
20 Mar 2023
Can I avoid IHT by stuffing all my money into a pension?
Personal finance

Can I avoid IHT by stuffing all my money into a pension?

The ditching of the lifetime allowance could enable millions of pension savers to avoid inheritance tax. We explain how.
20 Mar 2023
Will energy prices go down in 2023?
Personal finance

Will energy prices go down in 2023?

Ofgem’s price cap is now predicted to fall below £2,000, based on average typical use, from July, for the first time since 2022. We have all the detai…
21 Mar 2023