UPDATED 14:48 EDT / FEBRUARY 27 2015

Tim Cook clears up rumors about the Apple Watch

While many techies anticipate a barrage of products to be launched at next week’s Mobile World Congress, fanboys may be more excited about what’s happening later in the month on March 9, 2015.

Apple, the company behind the bar-setting iPhone device, has sent out invites for its Spring Forward press event, which will be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco. There’s a huge chance that this event is the official launch of the Apple Watch, as the press invites coincides with the update of the Apple Watch website.

Apple Watch

 

When Apple first introduced its smartwatch last year, many were delighted with the possibilities, including its good looks (available in three variantsApple Watch, Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition), and basic price-point of $349. It features a digital crown that allows users to zoom in and out on the touchscreen without obstructing the user’s view of the screen or to quickly go back to the Home Screen or activate Siri. The Apple Watch also features NFC for Apple Pay and ties in with Apple’s Health App. The exact specification of the Apple Watch has yet to be revealed, but we’ll probably know more on March 9.

In an interview with the Telegraph, Apple CEO Tim Cook recently revealed some interesting things about the Apple Watch that puts to rest several rumors.

Poor battery

 

There have been reports that the Apple Watch’s battery will only last 2.5 hours with continuous use of processor-intensive applications. With standard use, it will last 3.5 hours; if used for fitness tracking during exercise, the battery lasts for about four hours on a single charge. But in low-power mode, the battery will last for two to three days.

According to Cook’s interview, the battery will last a whole day and charging it won’t take as long as when you’re charging your iPhone. Cook didn’t really specify what mode the Apple Watch is on that makes it last a day, but if it lasts a day with intensive use, then fanbois will surely be delighted.

Apple Watch will replace car keys

 

Key fobs can remotely lock and unlock car doors, and Apple aims to replace them with the Apple Watch. Apple has ongoing efforts in the automotive industry with CarPlay and has big name partners, such as Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, to incorporate its connected car platform in their vehicles. Wearing an Apple Watch can make it easier for owners of these cars to check on them remotely.

It fights ‘cancer’

 

According to Cook, being a couch potato is the new cancer and the Apple Watch will fight it. The device has a tap feature that alerts the wearer if he or she has been sitting for way too long to motivate the person to stand up and get their blood circulating. Cook revealed in an interview that aside from nudging the wearer to get moving and monitoring their heart rate, users who get active and exercise enough will get credit for it. No info yet as to what “credit” Cook was pertaining to, but if it’s points that can be spent in the App Store, then that would be awesome.

Filtered messages

 

Cook stated that the Apple Watch will allow for filtering of messages, which means you can set it so that only important messages will be shown on the watch. This allows you to decide whether you need to take immediate action or save it for later.

It will be a new experience

 

This is the first time the Apple Store will feature a device that needs to be “tried on,” which could make for an interesting shopping experience. For one, a dummy device won’t suffice, as buyers would want to try out the real thing. Now, if Apple Stores gets overwhelmed with too many fanbois, it could end up getting one of its devices stolen under its nose. Apple could put in place better security for the Apple Watch.


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