Introduction

Apple is hailed as a pinnacle of consumer electronics design, but it has also been an unexpected driver of fashion. The iPod was notable for storing 1,000 songs in a device the size of a deck of cards, but one of its lasting impacts was to introduce white earbuds to nearly every public space. Wearing them now is so commonplace that we don’t even think about it, yet more than a decade ago they were a fashion statement: I own an Apple product.

With the Apple Watch, the company made another fashion statement: Your personal technology can be more personal, and more distinctive. It’s not a sliver of glass you pull out of your pocket or bag. It’s a timepiece, a health and fitness aid, and a connection to your personal information that you wear all the time. And if your experience is like mine, you now see Apple Watches everywhere.

Maybe you currently wear a traditional watch, or perhaps you haven’t worn one for years, if ever. What’s the appeal of an Apple timepiece?

The Apple Watch is an extension of the information you deal with every day. Without making the now-common-but-still-distracting motion of pulling out your iPhone, you can keep up with notifications, your schedule, and reminders; interact with people via text messaging or phone; track fitness goals and record vital exercise information generated by the sensors in the watch and in your iPhone; purchase items using Apple Pay; and much more. And you’ll look stylish while doing it.

This book is your essential guide to the Apple Watch and its capabilities and possibilities. I’ve worn an Apple Watch every day since the original model was first available. It has surprised, delighted, and, yes, occasionally perplexed me—it’s my job, after all, to be confused and solve problems first, so I can guide you to the solutions.

The Apple Watch is one of my essential devices, and I think you’ll find that it becomes one of yours, too.