Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference yesterday, Apple Inc.’s CEO said that he believes the upcoming Apple Watch will redefine its category.

Much like the iPod did in the MP3 category and the iPad in the tablet category.

“If you think about the MP3 industry, we weren’t the first company to make an MP3 player, there were lots of companies in this. They weren’t used very much. They were fundamentally hard to use — the user interface was bad and you almost needed a PhD to use them. They’re not memorable. […] “

“I see the smart watch category very much like that. There are several things that are called smart watches, but I’m not sure you could name any. There hasn’t been one that changed the way people live their lives. At Apple, that’s our objective. We want to change the way you live your life.”

Cook feels the Apple Watch will impact people’s lives in a “meaningful way”, and that people will be amazed by the breadth of functionality available with the Watch; both through native iOS apps and those developed by third parties.

He predicted that every Apple Watch wearer will discover something that they simply cannot do without in their day-to-day lives.

“I think everyone’s going to have their favorite thing, just like when the App Store came out. Remember the saying ‘there’s an app for that? There are an enormous number of things it will do.”

Cook also touted the Watch’s design features and the unique methods of communication it will make possible. He said he uses Siri on his Apple Watch all the time.

Apple Watch has a strong health and fitness focus and Cook uses his Watch daily when working out. He highlighted a feature that “taps” the wearer on the wrist if they have been sitting down for too long. At the top of each hour, after sitting down for 50 minutes, the Apple Watch gently “taps” you on the wrist, reminding you that it’s time to get up and move around.

According to Cook, employees at Apple have been using this feature extensively, resulting in lots of people suddenly standing up during meetings.

“It took awhile to get used to, but it’s actually really good,” Cook said. “A lot of doctors believe sitting is the new cancer.”

Apple Watch is slated to go on sale in April.

photo credit: Apple CEO Tim Cook via photopin (license)