A review of Apple's first wearable

So the Apple watch came out last week much to the delight of Apple fans worldwide. The newest gadget is possibly the most hyped product to be released by the tech giant, exploring a futuristic market which was only dreamt about in Bond thrillers and sci-fi movies. But how much is it, what does it do, can you really get it in gold and what is it actually like? We have the answers right here.

So What Is It?

It's a watch, which acts like a phone but isn't a phone... well, a watch that actually is iOS 8.2 friendly and interacts with your iPhone. It's flexible, comes in a variety of colours and sizes and is basically a tool to help eliminating the all-too-common need to take out our current phone devices to constantly check pesky notification updates… it also looks pretty cool and well, it does tell the time.

What Does It Actually Do?

Well... it transmits messages, Facebook updates and allows you to access simplified apps on your wrist. You can use it without an iPhone directly to select apps (Twitter, Apple Pay), listen to music during a gym workout and be alerted to take calls and messages.

It has an 8GB storage restriction, but most content streams from the iPhone anyway. It does mean though that this will, unfortunately, limit the amount of selfies and Justin Beiber soundtracks you can keep directly on your smartwatch.

You also have a lot of flexibility when interacting with the watch. You can choose to receive glanceable notification, have the phones “tapic” technology buzz you which is all customisable of course or you can ask your old friend Siri for assistance. And what does this all mean? Well, now when that pesky work colleague, client or “friend” calls you, you won’t have to take your phone out of your wallet to reject his call. You can do it all with the touch of your wrist!

When Is It Out?

It's out now following the April 24 release date but don't expect to get one anytime soon unless you have been very nice to Santa this year. It's expected to hit stores in June but even then you might need to put on your best behaviour and bribe the hell out of the Apple sales team staff member that serves you, because getting one is going to be a difficult task.

Cost?

Well, that depends on how you want your watch set up. If you are after the aluminum Sports edition then you'll be surprised that it will only set you back around $349 (£299), and that's for the smaller 38mm version. The 42mm size is slightly more at $399 (£339).

Now if you're looking for the shinier stainless steel option, pricing starts at $549 (£479) and goes up to $1099 (£949), depending on the handcrafted (9 hours by the way) Apple Watch bands and size configuration you require.

Now for the gold option and yes they have one. These gems will start at roughly $10,000 (£8,000) and go up to around $17,000 (£13,500, AU$24,000), once again depending on your specific requirements, but they are in limited supply and only available at select Apple Stores. So make sure you get in quick!

Want To Try It?

If you want to try out the Apple watch, putting yourself through days of sleep deprivation, camping outside the front of the store may not be the answer. Apple have said that tests will require appointments. So that the Apple sales staff can demo the smartwatch to you, so reserve a time in advance.

It's currently “available” in nine countries: US, UK, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong and Japan with more to come in late in June.

Review

So the team at Apple still haven't sent us our test watch to try out. As a result we decided that instead of making you all wait, we'll flick you over to the guys at TechCrunch so you can see in full detail the up close intricacies of the Apple watch in all its glory.