NEW DELHI – Apple on Monday took the wraps off its much-awaited Apple Watch at an event in San Francisco, while making two other key announcements: a totally revamped MacBook range and a health-focussed initiative called ResearchKit.
Launched in a number of variants and two sizes, including gold models, Apple Watch will be available from next month in nine countries; the schedule does not include India. The prices will start at $349 and go above a whopping $17,000 for the gold model.
Apple Watch, when it makes it to Indian shelves, is not expected to cost less than Rs 30,000 for the base model of 38 mm in Sport range. Most models upwards of that will compete with ‘dumb’ but luxury watches that are more of a fashion or style statement, a segment Apple clearly seeks to compete in and carve a niche for its watch.
The smartwatch will be available in two sizes (38 and 42 mm) and three variants: Apple Watch, Apple Watch Edition and Apple Watch Sport. The first two come with sapphire crystal to protect the screen from cracking, whereas the sports version has a strengthened Ion-X glass on the display.
