Apple Watch Sightings Picking Up Ahead of Official Launch

With just three months to go until the Apple Watch's April release, Apple is hard at work field testing the device, and hundreds of Apple engineers, employees, and testers are wearing the Apple Watch on a regular basis to help Apple iron out last minute bugs and issues.

Due to the large number of employees testing the device, Apple Watch sightings in the wild have become more common over the course of the last few weeks. On the MacRumors forums, readers are aggregating photos and stories of device sightings, giving us an in-use look at the device that will be attached to many of our wrists in just a few short months.

One of the first major Apple Watch sightings occurred several weeks ago, when Vogue Editor Suzy Menkes snapped a photo of someone wearing the device. Rumors and speculation have suggested the arm in the photo could belong to Marc Newson, the designer who now works at Apple part time alongside Jony Ive.

applewatchwild1

Image via Suzy Menkes

A second less-clear image of what is likely an Apple Watch was shared on Twitter earlier this week, with the photo being snapped in San Francisco's Marina area.

applewatchwild2

Image via RaceJohnson

If you happen to live in the Cupertino area, it's quite possible you might run into an Apple employee who is wearing one of the watches. VentureBeat's Mark Sullivan recently shared a story of an Apple Watch he spotted while commuting on Caltrain. Sullivan got a bit more than a glimpse -- he had the opportunity to see the Apple Watch in action for several minutes and his account on how it was used is a great read for those who want to learn a bit about how it integrates into daily life.

According to Sullivan, the man's Apple Watch "looked proportionate" to his wrist and had a traditional look that didn't "scream for attention." Sullivan saw a text reminder pop up on the screen, accompanied by a map, and he got the impression that the Apple Watch had become an essential part of this person's life.

I want one, and I didn't even really see much of what the thing could do. But I got the distinct impression that the Watch has already become integrated into the daily life of this user. I could see it as a powerful personal assistant that's always just an arm's lift away to help you make sense of the minutiae of daily life: the schedules and reminders and appointments and social media and everything else we all have to process every minute of every day.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said earlier this week that the Apple Watch is on track to launch in April, but he did not offer a narrower timeframe that would hit at when the release could come during the month. As we creep closer to April, though, we can expect to see a lot more of the Apple Watch in the wild as employees continue testing the device.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
mail categories macos

Apple's Redesigned Mail App is Expanding to the Mac — Here's When

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:02 am PST by
Apple plans to expand the iPhone's redesigned Mail app to the Mac starting with macOS 15.4, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The first macOS 15.4 beta should be made available in the coming weeks, and Apple has previously suggested that the iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4 series of software updates will be released to the public in April. The revamped Mail app debuted on all...
apple power beats pro 2

Powerbeats Pro 2 Coming Soon: Apple to Announce Them 'Imminently'

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...

Top Rated Comments

macintologist Avatar
130 months ago
Maybe I'm alone here but I haven't worn a watch since I was a child, and I don't plan on spending $350 for a new watch when my iPhone can tell the time, check my mail and do pretty much anything I need when I'm mobile.
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Keirasplace Avatar
130 months ago
Maybe I'm alone here but I haven't worn a watch since I was a child, and I don't plan on spending $350 for a new watch every year.

You are the 250th post that is EXACTLY like that here. So no, you're not alone in not being original; that must be a comfort.

Most people aren't even spending $350 dollars a year for their phone, so the rest of the comment in non sequitur.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
techpr Avatar
130 months ago
ok guys, brace yourself for upcoming Arm-Selfies
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LordQ Avatar
130 months ago
I want this less every day :(
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spiderman0616 Avatar
130 months ago
Keep hating, haters. This is the same pattern as always.

iPod? An MP3 player? THIS is what they came up with to save the company? Why would I need that? It only works with Macs and it's too expensive anyway. Fail.

This is what they came up with for a smartphone? A $600 touch screen that doesn't do anything? And it's only on AT&T and doesn't even have 3G? Fail.

I can't believe they actually named it iPad. What a joke. Nobody is going to buy this thing. Especially because it's just on a blown up version of iOS instead of OS X like it should be. $500 starting price for a big phone? There's no way this thing takes off. Fail.

Fill in the blank with just about every hater comment on this thread for the Watch. I'm willing to bet that most people hating on it would have never bought one anyway.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
130 months ago
Maybe I'm alone here but I haven't worn a watch since I was a child, and I don't plan on spending $350 for a new watch every year.

Who said you have to buy one every year?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)