Watch out for Apple's newest

Plenty of Apple users and media were left swooning yesterday after company chief executive Tim Cook unveiled a watch, two larger iPhones and a mobile payment service.

The first new product to be developed and introduced under Mr Cook's reign is a timepiece, tethered to iPhone, that will combine health and fitness tracking with communications.

The Apple Watch, not the expected name of iWatch, will go on sale early next year with a price tag of $US349 ($NZ424). No price and delivery time was available for a New Zealand launch.

''Once again, Apple is poised to captivate the world with a revolutionary product that can enrich people's lives. It's the most personal product we've ever made,'' Mr Cook said.

Technology commentator Shelly Palmer said personalisation of the Apple watch was the key.

Apple designed six different straps with a clasp to easily let users swap between bands. Apple also designed two different sizes for the watch because one size did not necessarily fit well on every wrist.

There were three collections - the standard Apple Watch, the fitness lover's watch and the fashionista's edition with 18-carat gold.

In terms of practical functionality, the Apple Watch sensed you were raising your wrist and would then activate the display.

The watch had inductive charging - a MagSafe charger attached to the back of the device's face for wireless charging, he said.

''There was no real mention of the Apple Watch's battery life, which is troubling. Tim Cook offhandedly said you're meant to wear it all day but it's not clear how long the device's battery will actually last,'' Mr Palmer said.

The watch is unlikely to increase Apple's revenue. Estimates vary but IDC expects total global demand of 42 million smartwatches in 2015. Apple sells that many or more iPhones in a good quarter.

The pressure was on for the world's largest technology company to wow the market after a year-long drought of products beyond new iPhones and iPads.

Also yesterday, larger iPhones were launched with support from more than 200 telecommunications carriers worldwide - including all three carriers in China, a key growth market for the company.

And it introduced a new mobile payments service called Apple Pay, which would initially be available only in the US. Users could pay for items in shops with their phones instead of physically presenting their credit or debit cards.

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