The Apple Watch will celebrate its 10th anniversary: ​​6 highlights to discover

Presentation of the Apple Watch in 2014. © Apple

Apple will soon celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch. The first version of the connected watch from the Cupertino company was presented on September 9. Then, the product was marketed from April 2015 in 9 countries, including France.

“Apple presented to the world several products that define a category, the Mac, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad”, declared Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, during the presentation.'And once again, Apple is poised to captivate the world with a revolutionary product capable of enriching people's lives. It's the most personal product we've ever made.”

This one saw just. Indeed, if Apple did not invent the connected watch, the Apple Watch is today more or less the market reference. And as the Apple Watch soon celebrates its tenth anniversary, we invite you to rediscover some key facts about this revolutionary product.

1 – Before 2014, we were talking about iWatch

Despite its best efforts to keep its secrets, Apple is rarely safe from information leaks. Thus, in 2013, sources were already talking about the development of a connected watch by Apple. However, at the time, the media was talking about iWatch. And several sources suggested that this watch could be released in 2013.

Eventually, the watch was named Apple Watch. And it was only presented in 2014. In any case, it is important to remember that in 2013, there were already very interesting products on the connected watch market. Among these were watches from the Pebble brand, which was financed through the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform. And we recall that in 2016, Pebble was bought by its competitor Fitbit, which was bought by Google a few years later.

2 – The first big Apple novelty under the Tim Cook era

After the death of Steve Jobs in 2011, the reins of Apple were entrusted to Tim Cook, who is still the CEO of Apple in 2024. And the Apple Watch is the first big new product launched by Apple under the direction of Cook. This is also recalled by Jony Ive, the former head of design at Apple, in an interview given to the podcast “Life in Seven Songs” (via Business Insider). “I'm proud of what we did with the watch because it’s something I started after Steve passed away,” he declared.

3 – A huge success from the launch

Some Apple products, like the HomePod speaker, have not been hugely successful. But as far as the Apple Watch is concerned, it was a hit from its launch. If the Cupertino company very rarely gives figures on its sales, an article from The Guardian relays data from the measurement company Slice which indicates that in the United States, almost 1 million Apple Watches have been pre-ordered from day one.

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4 – A product that saves lives

In developing the Apple Watch, Apple focused heavily on tracking health and wellness. And, in 2018, the firm's connected watch even began to save lives. Indeed, from December 2018, the Apple Watch Series 4 offered an ECG or electrocardiography functionality. This feature can alert the user if a heart problem is detected, so that the user can consult a doctor. And the testimonies did not take long since on December 7, the press relayed the story of an Apple Watch user who discovered that he has a heart rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation thanks to an alert from the Apple Watch.

This detection feature has evolved in subsequent versions of the Apple Watch. And other health tracking features, like the blood oxygen level sensor, have arrived.

5 – 100 million Apple Watches in use in 2021 ?

It is not known precisely how many Apple Watches are in use today, given that the firm does not publish this type of information. However, an analysis from the site Above Avalon estimated that in 2021, the Apple Watch would have crossed the threshold of 100 million units in use.

6 &# 8211; A special version for 10 year olds ?

If the Apple Watch’s 10th anniversary is making headlines right now, it’s largely because rumors suggest that Apple could launch a new Apple Watch specifically designed for its tenth anniversary. And for the occasion, the company is reportedly planning to offer a major update. According to a recent newsletter from Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman, the next Apple Watch “Series” could have larger screens, comparable to the screens of the Apple Watch Ultra. In addition, Apple is reportedly preparing a more powerful chip, which could integrate some AI-based features.

How the Apple Watch could evolve in the coming years ?

While Apple is now one of the leaders in the wearables market, the Apple Watch is far from perfect. One of the big problems with the Apple Watch, and smartwatches in general, is battery life. But the good news is that a new battery technology could allow Apple to significantly improve the battery life of its accessories. In June, TDK, which is one of Apple's suppliers, according to CNBC, announced a new generation of solid-state batteries that have an energy density of 1,000 Wh/l, almost 100 times higher than the energy density of its conventional batteries. And smartwatches are one of the markets targeted by this new technology.

Otherwise, AI should also, in one way or another, change the way we use the Apple Watch. As a reminder, this year, Apple presented Apple Intelligence, a series of features based on generative AI which is coming to compatible iPhones, iPads and Macs. But, unfortunately, the integration of Apple Intelligence on the Apple Watch would not be in the firm's plans, for the moment.

Finally, rumors have long suggested that Apple would try to develop sensors capable of measuring blood sugar levels. If these are rumors for the moment, such technology would revolutionize the Apple Watch since currently, a blood sample is necessary to know your blood sugar.

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