Months of rumors suggested Apple’s wearable device would be a health-centric powerhouse capable of predicting heart attacks, analyzing sweat and other miraculous feats. But in reality, the Apple Watch seems more like a sexy, supercharged fitness tracker than a full-fledged medical device.

Still, this is an ambitious first-generation device — a crucial step forward for wearables that points the way toward the comprehensive health and fitness device the Apple Watch could become.

One of the smaller details Apple failed to mention during today’s keynote was its new watch’s tolerance of liquids. While the Apple Watch is designed to stay on your wrist all day, it’s not suited for all situations.

It turns out that the Apple Watch will be just fine with a little water, but don’t plan on wearing it while swimming.

Apple finally showed the world today what the media has been calling an “iWatch” for months. Apple Watch is the first new product category to come out of the company since the original iPad.
It marks a “new era” for Apple, according to CEO Tim Cook, and introducing the Apple Watch was even deemed worthy of a “One more thing” tease (as made famous by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs).
There’s a lot to digest about Apple’s first wearable, so we’ve made it easy for you. Here are the 10 most important things you need to know about the Apple Watch.

The iWatch is no longer a unicorn.

Apple finally unveiled its wearable device today — dubbed the “Apple Watch” — and Cult of Mac was there to get a hands-on look at the highly customizable smartwatch.

That like-new iPhone 5s in your pocket? Obsolete. How about that smartwatch or fitness band you’ve been carting around on your wrist for the past six months? Old news. If you whip out your leather wallet and try to pay with a rectangle of plastic — at least at the corporate stores Apple works with — chances are you’ll be looked at like an old fogey.

Apple has, once again, thoroughly owned the mobile category, expanding the ways we communicate, live and transact business in our daily lives.

This domination of the smartphone, smartwatch and mobile payment categories, as revealed in today’s big iPhone 6 and Apple Watch event, has us ready to hand over another load of cash to the Apple mothership, and gladly. As usual, there were some surprises — some awesome and some not so much — but here are the main takeaways.

Tim Cook and company brought down the house at the Flint Center in Cupertino, and while investors haven’t reacted positively, Apple fanboys are still trying to recover from the hurricane of incredible new products Apple just announced.

The Apple Watch, big iPhones, Apple Pay and even some new software features were previewed at Apple’s first fashion-forward event. But there were a couple of disappointments hiding in the dark corners of the Flint Center as well. Like, where was the talk about the Apple Watch’s battery life? And why is there no sapphire glass on the iPhone 6?

Here are the biggest disappointments from today’s Apple keynote:

Today, in what is being described as a “historic” event, Apple will take the stage in Cupertino and unveil at least three new products: the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, the 5.5-inch iPhone 6+, and (quite possibly) the iWatch, Apple’s revolutionary wearable.

But imagine if Apple had even more in store for us. Like what? Oh, say, this Apple patent for an Occulus Rift style virtual reality headset!

The Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic is set to be at Apple’s special media event this morning to help demonstrate the benefit of Apple’s Health app to medical professionals, according to the Star Tribune.

Mayo Clinic is one of the best-known names in U.S. healthcare and partnering with Apple will benefit both organizations: Apple with legitimacy for its new mobile health push, and Mayo Clinic in terms of using technology to better provide health and fitness tracking for patients.

As per the Star Tribune, Mayo Clinic’s role at Apple’s event will involve demonstrating how data can flow into the more sophisticated management system of a major health center.

We’re mere hours away from Apple’s September 9th special media event at The Flint Center, and as expected, the company has added an “Apple Events” channel for those planning to watch on the Apple TV.

Fans without an Apple TV can watch a livestream of the event on Apple’s website, provided they are running Safari 5.1.10 or later on OS X 16.6.8 or later.

The event kicks off at 10 a.m. Pacific today, and we expect to see the public unveiling of both the iPhone 6 and iWatch.

Cult of Mac will be covering the event live from the Flint Center, so stay tuned for our moment-by-moment coverage. It’s going to be a blast!

Apple is widely rumored to unveil a new NFC-based mobile payments service tied into the iPhone and iWatch later today.

But there’s a problem. In the aftermath of the Fappening, the massive iCloud breach that leaked nude and pornographic images of Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton and more, it’s bad timing. Apple’s name is synonymous in the news with security breaches right now. People may not want to trust the company with their financial data if Apple can’t even protect the nudes of celebrities.

So maybe Apple shouldn’t push payments during today’s big event. Or at least not at first. Maybe Tim Cook should apologize instead.