Apple Watch April 2015 Release Confirmed

During Apple’s first 2015 earnings call CEO Tim Cook said development of the Apple Watch (what some have called the iWatch) is on schedule, and Apple will begin shipment of the new smart device this April.

During the call Mr. Cook said that he always has the watch on and he “can’t live without it.” For at least $349 I wouldn’t be living without it either until a brain implant comes out that loads applications and the time in my eyes. From a marketing standpoint, I’d say that Mr. Cook is positioning the watch as a device that will become just as instrumental in our lives as the smartphone has evolved to be.

Although everything appears to be flowing smoothly, the Apple Watch’s battery life will appear to miss the objectives that have been set for it. Apple wants 2 to 4 hours of non-stop use of the watch. 9to5mac reports that Apple is “targeting 2.5 hours of “heavy” application use” or “3.5 hours of standard app use;” 9to5mac defined “heavy” app use as gaming, which typically exhausts processors, so anything other than that may be “standard app use,” such as interaction with maps and the web. Apple is programming the watch’s fitness tracking application, nonetheless, for 4 hour non-stop workouts without recharging required.

Further, Apple wants the watch’s battery to last 3 days in stand by mode, and 4 days if the watch is sleeping. Apple is aiming for 19 hours of active and passive use of the watch, which would make it something like a phone that you stop using at the end of the day and let charge at night. However, sources have revealed that the 19 hour target may not be met until the second generation of the watch is released.