Apple Watch arrives in April as 'most advanced timepiece ever created'
Apple is making an ambitious foray into high-end jewelry that wires bodies and our health to the Web. The device's price will range from $350 for the lowest-end model to $550 for the middle-tier steel model and at least $10,000 for the gold high-end model.
Nick StattFormer Staff Reporter / News
Nick Statt was a staff reporter for CNET News covering Microsoft, gaming, and technology you sometimes wear. He previously wrote for ReadWrite, was a news associate at the social-news app Flipboard, and his work has appeared in Popular Science and Newsweek. When not complaining about Bay Area bagel quality, he can be found spending a questionable amount of time contemplating his relationship with video games.
Shara Tibken was a managing editor at CNET News, overseeing a team covering tech policy, EU tech, mobile and the digital divide. She previously covered mobile as a senior reporter at CNET and also wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. Shara is a native Midwesterner who still prefers "pop" over "soda."
The Apple Watch Edition version of the company's wearable contains an 18-karat gold casing that elevates its price to a minimum of $10,000.James Martin/CNET
It's Apple Watch's time to shine.
After months of speculation following the company's September unveiling of the gadget, Apple dished out more details about its smartwatch Monday at its special "Spring Forward" launch event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco on Monday. Apple Watch -- slated to ship April 24 -- is the company's first device in a new product category since the iPad tablet was introduced in 2010.
"Apple Watch is the most personal device we have ever created," Apple CEO Tim Cook said onstage, repeating themes from the company's September event. "It's just not with you -- it's on you. And since what you wear is an expression of who you are, we've designed Apple Watch to appeal to a whole variety of people with different tastes and different preferences."
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Cook called Apple Watch "the most advanced timepiece ever created." Pre-orders for the device start on April 10. Yet the most important question going into Monday's event, however, was how much Apple Watch is going cost. The company partly answered that question onstage, while particular configurations are available to inspect online.
The aluminum and glass Apple Watch Sport with a plastic band starts at $349 or $400 for a model with a larger casing, while the stainless steel mid-tier model will start at $550 and go as high as $1,100 depending on what band it's paired with. The highest-end model, the 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition, will start at $10,000 and goes as high as $17,000 when paired with Apple's gold-laden buckle.
