(Bloomberg Business) — Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) began making the case for its first new device in five years, a smartwatch designed to put information on peoples’ wrists and break open the fledgling market for wearable technology.
Apple Watch tracks health and fitness information, displays message notifications and lets users control their music. It comes in two sizes and three styles with a starting price of $349, according to the Cupertino, California-based company. Apple is holding an event in San Francisco Monday to provide new details about the gadget, which goes on sale in April.
With the watch, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook is pushing Apple into a new product category that seeks to further immerse users into the company’s digital universe. As a health and fitness tracker, the watch opens new possibilities in the health industry. It also expands the number of devices that work with Apple Pay, the company’s new mobile-payments system. To fully work, the watch, which has a color touchscreen, needs to be paired with an iPhone.