Apple Watch: First launch may include China

[[128413]]

Apple CEO Tim Cook gave a speech to employees at the Apple flagship store in Berlin last week. Attendees revealed that Cook said that the launch of Apple Watch in April this year will not be limited to the US market.

Cook specifically pointed out that Apple Watch will be available in Germany in April. Industry insiders expect that Apple Watch may be released in the United States in April and will be available in Germany and other countries in the same month. In the initial stage of product launch, the sales scope of Apple Watch will be much larger than that of iPhone and iPad.

When the iPhone was first released, it was only available in the US market, and Apple only cooperated with AT&T as a carrier. In April 2010, the iPad was also first released in the US, and entered the European and Australian markets more than a month later. As for the Apple Watch, sources revealed that this product is likely to be available in Australia in April, because Apple has secretly trained the employees of the Sydney Apple retail store on the sales process of the Apple Watch. Apple also seems to plan to promote the Apple Watch in the UK and France, so the Apple Watch may also be available in these countries in April.

Canada is usually one of the first countries where Apple products are released. In Canada, Apple plans to launch Apple Pay, a payment service compatible with Apple Watch, soon. However, it is not yet certain whether Apple Watch will be available in Canada in April. Apple has vigorously promoted Apple Watch in China, so it is possible that this smartwatch will be available in China soon. However, regulatory factors in the Chinese market may delay the sale of this product.

During his trip to Germany, Cook also met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss consumer privacy protections and visited the offices of Bild newspaper to discuss rumors about Apple, Jobs, and the intelligence activities of the National Security Agency (NSA).

An employee asked whether Apple employees could get an Apple Watch for free after the Apple Watch goes on sale. Cook replied: "You gave me a question to think about. I agree with you that this is a good thing, and I think everyone should use our products."

Cook also talked about the development of Apple Pay in Europe. He said: "Apple Pay will go global. This is not just a US service, we want it to be everywhere. We are working hard to promote it outside the United States. But it will take a little time. We hope to be in Germany and hope to be in Europe this year. I don't know if we can do it, but I think we can. We intend to be here as soon as possible."

During his trip to Germany, Cook also said that Apple will have a lot of news about Apple Watch and applications coming soon. Cook focused on the application of Apple Watch in hotels, saying that "some of the world's largest hotels" will allow Apple Watch users to use the wearable device to unlock the door.

Cook believes that in some hotels, the hotel application of Apple Watch will replace the check-in process at the hotel front desk. "Therefore, some people will start to think about not only using Apple Watch to do some cool things, but also using this product to change the entire business." At the Apple Watch launch conference in September 2014, Starwood Hotels Group announced that it would cooperate with Apple to develop Apple Watch applications.

In addition, Cook also talked about the health and fitness applications developed by third parties for Apple Watch. Apple Watch itself will be equipped with Apple's Workout and Activity applications, and these applications will help users customize exercise plans and measure exercise results. Cook said that these applications are "very exciting." Apple Watch integrates motion and heart rate sensors, which will help developers develop powerful applications.

As for other features of the Apple Watch, Cook said that Panera Bakery is developing a WatchKit app that will allow Apple Watch users to swipe their watch to complete payments. Last fall, Panera Bakery was one of the first merchants to support Apple Pay in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, so it is natural for the company to support Apple Watch payments.

***, Cook also hinted that Apple is trying to promote Apple Watch in the enterprise market. He pointed out that Salesforce.com is developing software for Apple Watch. In the enterprise market, Salesforce.com is a long-time partner of Apple, having developed software for iPhone and iPad. Apple has also recently cooperated with IBM in the enterprise market, but Cook did not mention Apple Watch applications from IBM. Apple has already announced some enterprise applications, such as Launch Center Pro.

Since Apple Watch itself does not have a particularly outstanding function, third-party applications and customizability are crucial to the success of Apple Watch. After realizing this, Apple has invited more than 100 application developers to its headquarters to develop, design and test Apple Watch applications. Apple is likely to showcase more applications for Apple Watch at the "Spring Forward" event on March 9. (Viking)