Apple Watch: Where, When, And Why To Get It

The official release of Apple’s latest and greatest product, the Apple Watch, will be officially released this week, (April 24). Now the question Apple fans are asking is, where can I get it?

Unfortunately, the answer to where to get the Apple Watch isn’t as simple as the question. Pre-orders for the Apple Watch are now available, but according to Benchmark Reporter, Apple says that their new watch will only be available in limited quantities for the first few weeks, and it will only be available online. Samples of all the different designs for the Apple Watch will be available in Apple Stores, but those interested in the new product won’t be able to pick one up for a few months without ordering it directly from the company. Since April 1, the first day that Apple started accepting pre-orders for the watch, estimates put initial demand at around one million watches.

So why is everyone so eager to get their hands on the new Apple Watch? What all of a sudden makes the new product a must have?

Let’s be honest, a big reason a lot of people want to get their hands on the Apple Watch is simply because it’s the “new thing” from Apple. Like the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad — and all their iterations — the Apple Watch is the new hip product. It’s cool, it’s status, and for those reasons alone, Apple has a built-in diehard customer base that wants it.

However, beyond the Apple Watch being the cool new product, the Apple Watch does offer some pretty useful tools that tech-heads, fitness freaks, and smartphone fanatics are very interested in obtaining.

The Apple Watch comes in 54 different styles and bands. It connects to your iPhone, and that seamless connection could eventually be the new wave of how we interact with the internet. The main function of the watch right now is to allow users of the Apple Watch to look at your phone less. Say you get an incoming text, email, or call — it will show up on the watch, giving you a snapshot you can either engage with (in a limited way) via your watch or more in-depth by using your phone. Or, of course, you can glance at your watch and ignore the message altogether if it doesn’t require attention.

There’s also the health component to the watch. You can track how much you’re moving, (or not moving, as the case may be), listen to music or podcasts, use your phone’s GPS for navigation, talk to Siri, use Apple Pay, and even tell time.

The Apple Watch is an extension of your iPhone, connected via Blue Tooth, that really looks like it could be the next big thing in personal technology. Are there glitches? Yup. Early indications are that there are issues with battery life in the first iteration of the Apple Watch. There are also some worries about delays in the communication between your iPhone and the watch. However, as with all new Apple products, the issues will most likely be addressed in later versions.

[Photos by Lam Yik Fei and Stephen Lam/Getty Images]