Apple Watch launch: $17,000 smartwatch unveiled – as it happened

Apple's chief executive Tim Cook demonstrated the new Apple Watch, ranging from $349 to $17,000, and announced a thinner MacBook laptop and cheaper Apple TV

• Apple releases new slimmer 12in MacBook
• HBO launches standalone streaming service as an Apple exclusive
• Apple Watch: available April 24 for between $349 and $10,000
• Apple Watch apps: the lowdown

7.22pm GMT

So, there we have it. While most of the Apple Watch features shown off tonight had already been seen at last year's unveiling, the key news was about availability and pricing.

Pre-orders start on 10 April, with the device going on sale on 24 April in nine countries: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and US. In the UK, the cheapest model will start at 299, the mid-tier "Watch" version will range from 479 to 949 depending what strap you choose, and the high-end Edition will start at [cough] 8,000.

For anyone that missed the event, consider reading through @guardiantech's honest and hilarious live tweets. Bravo.

7.22pm GMT

7.18pm GMT

We say: The price of the steel edition proves that Apple is attempting to compete on a level with watchmakers, not smartwatch manufacturers such as Sony and Samsung. Whether that strategy will win out will be interesting to watch. Right now Apple has the most expensive smartwatch going and Google now looks like the budget end of the market.

The new MacBook is incredibly thin and light, verging on the weight and thickness of tablets rather than computers. But that comes at the cost of connectivity.

6.47pm GMT

Now I'm just left wondering how many maternal health clinics in Tanzania could be funded for the price of a Gold Edition Apple Watch.

6.47pm GMT

@jemimakiss well the taste free oligarch market is seemingly growing. @girlonetrack

6.35pm GMT

The Apple Watch Edition - Apple's 18-carat gold watch - will start at $10,000 with a selection of bands, including a solid gold one.

Pre-orders for all the Apple Watch variants start on 10 April with the watch shipping and being in stores on 24 April in a selection of countries including the US and UK.

6.32pm GMT

Can we get the woman who was working in Africa back on stage whilst you show us your $10,000 gold watch please Tim? #AppleEvent

6.30pm GMT

Equally for the stainless steel Apple Watch, Apple has altered the material.

"Apple has customised the stainless steel to make it harder, removing impurities and making sure its lattice forms uniformly making the metal up to 80% harder and less susceptible to scratches," said Ive.

6.29pm GMT

With 18 hours battery life, Apple Watch won't deliver sleep tracking. Leaves room for other health bands #applewatch #smartwatch

6.29pm GMT

AAPL stock price went up considerably during the Mac presentation, down during the Apple Watch bit... yup. pic.twitter.com/OuLToJrKjf

6.27pm GMT

The Apple Watch Sport will use a special alloy of aluminium.

Jony Ive, Apple's head of design, said that raw aluminium is combined with magnesium and zinc to create a metal that is 60% stronger than traditional aluminium alloy but at the same weight.

6.23pm GMT

The Apple Watch will rely on the iPhone and an Apple Watch app on iOS 8.2, which is available for download today.

"We've designed it with all-day battery life across a range of uses," said Cook, adding that the watch will last around 18 hours and uses a magnetic charging cable.

6.23pm GMT

Apple demoed a variety of third-party Apple Watch apps, including Shazam for recognising songs from the wrist, United Airlines app that displays a boarding pass on the wrist and a garage door opener - opening up the possibility for the Watch to be the centre of an Internet of Things set up through Apple's Home Kit.

6.21pm GMT

Uber driver Scott has a 5 star rating. That means he's only just started & this is his first job. #AppleWatchEvent pic.twitter.com/EJL3yqpJHx

6.20pm GMT

Apple Watch communicates with the iPhone over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth - unlike competitors such as Google's Android Wear watches and the Pebble - meaning that the watch doesn't need to be close to the smartphone to take a call on the wrist or access data services.

6.20pm GMT

To pay for goods with the Apple Watch, double tapping the side button will bring up the credit card. A contactless touch will then pay for the goods on a compatible card reader in a store.

The Watch will beep and vibrate to confirm the transaction. Apple Pay has been popular in the US since launch, where contactless credit cards weren't widely in use. The situation might be different in the UK and elsewhere where contactless credit cards are common.

6.16pm GMT

Apple has announced a new thin, light MacBook with retina screen, dropped the price of Apple TV to $69 and announced a new research initiative to share anonymised patient data with cancer and diabetes researchers. Its new Apple Watch includes wifi and the voice control tool Siri.

6.12pm GMT

Siri on the Apple Watch can do pretty much anything if can do on an iPhone, but it responds in text, not via voice according to the on-stage demos - a move those embarrassed by having a conversation with a gadget will be thankful for.

6.10pm GMT

6.08pm GMT

"please look at these poor african children cheering for christy turlington's apple watch"

6.07pm GMT

Turlington Burns explained that she switches bands depending on what she's doing. The blue leather modern buckle for fashion, rubber band for sports.

Apple hopes that Watch buyers will accessories their watches with different bands. Another large potential revenue stream.

6.04pm GMT

Model and health fanatic Christy Turlington Burns - did a half-marathon in Africa using an Apple Watch.

6.02pm GMT

The Watch will send you activity summaries and suggest new targets every week, which is very similar to other fitness trackers such as the Jawbone UP.

A workout app will also track more detailed statistics and suggest activities.

6.01pm GMT

Apple is focused on new communication methods, something that can't be done any other way using the sensors and the vibration feedback.

"You can even send your heart beat - an incredibly intimate communication and a whole new way to communicate," said Cook.

6.00pm GMT

5.56pm GMT

Cook takes to the stage to talk about the Apple Watch, which it announced last year but is due to ship in April. This is the product it hopes will take the company into the next era of computing - wearable technology.

5.54pm GMT

The new MacBook starts at $1,299 with 256GB storage, shipping on April 10th.

The MacBook Air sees processor and memory upgrades.

5.54pm GMT

Live from #AppleWatchEvent pic.twitter.com/IBVVsru8KW

5.52pm GMT

Jony Ive: "To maximise performance, we took an extreme approach to miniaturisation". PARKLIFE

5.49pm GMT

Related: Apple releases new slimmer 12in MacBook

5.46pm GMT

The new MacBook will need a variety of connectors to turn the USB-C port into what they need, which may not be popular. More dongles to carry around just to use your old kit.

5.45pm GMT

5.43pm GMT

#Apple admits nobody is going to like its new product! http://t.co/NoRyF58QZ0 pic.twitter.com/DgiqOhESAO

5.42pm GMT

I wonder how much the "woo!" guy in the audience gets paid per Apple event.

5.39pm GMT

Apple's launched a new Retina MacBook that super thin and light - a replacement for the current MacBook Air line.

5.37pm GMT

Tim Cook: "When you're out in the wild you will see Macs everywhere". #AppleWatchEvent http://t.co/NoRyF58QZ0 pic.twitter.com/yDFEYQyAtf

5.31pm GMT

We say: Health data is about to become the big topic in the privacy debate. There's already a case in the Canadian courts where a personal trainer wants to use data from her Fitbit device in a personal injury claim. The kind of data Apple is collecting will give a fascinating and frightening insight into people's health. It will be interesting to see how they follow up on the promises of privacy that have just made.

5.29pm GMT

" ResearchKit is Apple's initiative to help patients share data on medical conditions with researchers
" Breast cancer, asthma, Parkinson's disease, diabetes and cardiovascular disease to be the first five apps
" "There is nothing more sensitive than your medical data. You decide what apps you participate in, what research you participate in," said Apple exec Jeff Williams

5.28pm GMT

use your phone to buy a lot of soda, use your phone to tell you you're fat because you drink to much soda. #AppleWatchEvent

5.24pm GMT

Williams reinforced that the patient or user is in control of the data. If they don't want to share the data they don't have to, but the apps will provide handy support and research opportunities for a variety of medical fields.

"For asthma, we worked on an app to see if it can help a patient use an app to manage their asthma," said Williams. "Mount Sinai is giving away some bluetooth inhalers, and they're swabbing surfaces to look for pathogens, and then the GPS from the iPhone will compare the spirometer data to the Pathogen map to look for the triggers for asthma."

5.24pm GMT

Apple has announced ResearchKit - an extension of HealthKit that lets researchers create apps. Apple's been been working with Stanford, Oxford University and many others.

"One of the biggest challenges researchers face is small sample sizes - recruiting subjects is difficult and you only get snapshots of data only," said Jeff Williams, Apple's senior vice president of operations. "We looked at these problems and saw a possibility to help."

5.22pm GMT

CarPlay, HomeKit, HealthKit - all pillars to locking iPhone users into the ecosystem even further. Smart move by Apple.

5.16pm GMT

5.16pm GMT

"Now every major car brand has committed to delivering CarPlay, with more than 40 new models of cars shipping with CarPlay, only a year after launch," says Cook.

5.13pm GMT

Apple TV has become the "category leader with 25m units sold, but Cook wants to push it even harder - Apple's reduced the cost to $69.

HBO NOW is premiering in April. http://t.co/dR3DO0cwhD

5.13pm GMT

5.10pm GMT

Apple has entered into a partnership with HBO, which will be streamed to Apple devices across the internet including the Apple TV.

"We couldn't be more proud to have Apple as our exclusive partner with HBO Now," Richard Plepler, chief executive of HBO, who took to the stage with Cook.

Related: HBO launches standalone streaming service as an Apple exclusive

5.08pm GMT

Cook talks up Apple's roll out in China - six stores opened in the last few weeks with 21 open in total, and aiming to reach 60 soon. If anyone had any doubts about the market that's most important going forward, China is it.

5.03pm GMT

Tim Cook has taken to the stage, seemingly not phased by his 4.30am wake up.

5.03pm GMT

Here we go. A scene showing China - Apple's big next market where it's currently in a fight with both Samsung and local players including Xiaomi. Could China be the Apple Watch's biggest market?

4.58pm GMT

We've just switched up a gear. Latch by Disclosure featuring Sam Smith. People are starting to wake up a bit. The baseline is thumping.

4.51pm GMT

Apple is pumping a bit of soft electro in the form of Sunlight by Kyte into the auditorium. What does it mean? That the beat always goes on, even if the Watch's battery has run dry?

4.38pm GMT

Apple fans, partners and analysts are gathering in convention centres in San Francisco and Berlin, with details of the company's new Watch device due to be announced at 1700GMT.

What do we know about the Apple Watch already? Quite a bit. But pricing - including a possibly rose gold deluxe edition - are to be announced. And maybe a MacBook Air retina or new Apple TV too.