Apple introduces long-anticipated smartwatch

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple on Monday unveiled a smartwatch that allows users to make and receive calls and messages and track health and fitness.

“It’s like having a coach on your wrist,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook said as he unveiled the keenly awaited Apple Watch.

Speaking at a media event in San Francisco, Cook said the new smartwatch “is the most personal device we have ever created,” and can display a variety of faces ranging from a classic watch to an animated Mickey Mouse.

Connecting to the iPhone, the Apple Watch is designed as a wrist device for messaging and calls and for a variety of health tracking applications.

“With the built in speaker and microphone you can receive calls on your watch. I have been wanting to do this since I was five years old,” Cook said.

The watch is also integrated with Apple Pay’s mobile wallet, and can be used to view pictures and monitor news, and also connect to social media.

“Now it’s on your wrist, not in your pocket or your pocketbook,” Cook said.

Apple enters a market that already has a number of players, ranging from South Korean giants Samsung and LG, to Japan’s Sony and startups such as Pebble.

But analysts expect Apple to lift the market by integrating the watch with the iPhone and its software ecosystem, and its range of apps and sensors for health and fitness.

Apple has indicated that the entry price would be $349 in the United States, and that two different sizes would be available in three collections, including the “Apple Watch Edition” — featuring 18-karat gold cases in yellow or rose, sapphire crystal and finely crafted bands and closures — that will start at $10,000.