Apple has finally pulled back the curtain on its long-awaited Apple Watch at a special launch event at the Flint Center in California, US, with the new device featuring a whole host of health and fitness-related functions.

The release marks the first truly new product from the brand in four years and is the first under new chief executive Tim Cook.

The Apple Watch comes in three slightly different variations to cater for different users, with health and fitness enthusiasts being offered an Apple Watch Sport edition that features a casing that is 60 per cent stronger than the majority of watch casings currently in production.

The watch interface features a home screen with a number of customisable applications, with users simply touching the screen to select the app they wish to use.

However, the brand has also introduced its own digital crown wheel that sits on the side of the watch, which functions as a scroll wheel to view users’ messages or zoom in and out of the display without them having to obstruct the screen with their fingers. The crown also serves as a home button to take users from an app back to the home screen.

As predicted, the watch features photo sensitive sensors on its back to help record pulse information, while connectivity with an iPhone allows for Wifi and GPS usage to keep track of movement, pace and distances travelled.

Other fitness features on the Watch include an accelerometer to measure total body movement, as well as the quality and intensity of movements made.

The Watch includes two specific health and fitness apps: Fitness and Workout. The Fitness app will keep track of all of your movements through an all-day fitness tracker, with users given three dedicated rings on display to help them improve their daily activity levels.

The first band will monitor how much you move throughout the day, with a ring being built up until you reach your chosen burned calorie rate. Once that rate is reached for the day the Move band will disappear.

The second is an Exercise ring, which measures brisk activity, with this ring disappearing when you’ve hit the daily-recommended limit of 30 minutes of exercise in 24 hours.

The final ring is known as Stand and is made to disappear from the user’s interface when they’ve reached the goal of standing up for one minute in 12 different hours, in order to help limit the time people are sedentary.

The other application is known as Workout and helps all types of fitness enthusiasts to plan activities and display workout metrics in real-time on their watch.

All of these will be transmitted for use and display on the iPhone’s Health and Fitness applications. The device also features predictive software to help offer person-specific fitness goals and targets.

Nike has also developed a partnering app to encourage watch users to give each other running goals and exercise challenges.

In terms of linking with an iPhone, the watch allows calls to be taken and messages to be received, with messages also being replied to by new technology, which suggests quick replies for the user based on the text featured in their received message.

The Apple Watch includes a new progressive touch communication technology, which allows watch wearers to communicate through each other’s watches by tapping, sketching pictures or sending heartbeats to each other.

Other standout features include the iPhone’s famed Siri function, with the watch allowing its user to find out information by simply posing a question to the device.

Also included is an app to showcase photos favourited on your Mac or iPhone hardware and Apple’s own Maps application, allowing driving or walking directions to be found using a tap function or personal dictation.

The company has also looked to incorporate third party users to interact with the Watch using its WatchKit platform, with some of the early adopters working with the device including the likes of Facebook and Twitter, which have already developed apps to allow users to communicate from the Apple Watch.

The device is due to ship in early 2015 and will start at US$349 (€270, £216), with the watch working in accordance with the brand’s new iPhone 6 as well as its previous iPhone 5 models.

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