Apple unveiled its “magical” new mobile product line during the iPhone 6 keynote, but the company left many questions unanswered about its “one more thing.” For instance, Apple did not say whether the Apple Watch will be waterproof or water-resistant, although it did show a version of the device splashed with water in one video, implying that there is at least some degree of water resistance. In a private Apple Watch briefing, David Pogue has learned that the device will be water-resistant, but that doesn’t mean you can take showers with it.
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“For example, the Apple Watch is water-resistant,” Pogue wrote. “Sweating, wearing it in the rain, washing your hands, or cooking with it are fine. Take it off before you swim or get in the shower, though.”
For swimmers who would like to use for tracking purposes that’s certainly not good news, as they’ll have to leave it behind during practice unless Apple finds a way to launch a waterproof model early next year.
The fact that you have to take the Watch off during showers means that you’ll have to reenter your PIN for wireless payments when you put it back on. The Watch’s Apple Pay biometric security feature is a combination of PIN and skin: as long as the watch knows it’s on your wrist (either by sensing your pulse or using other sensors to determine its positions, or a combination of the two), it’ll let you pay for stuff wirelessly by simply approaching the device to a compatible NFC terminal, without the need of reentering a PIN code. That’s also something Apple didn’t publicly address during the show.
Of course, rather than have the Watch with you in the shower, you’d be better off placing the Apple Watch on its charging cradle (if it’ll have one), as the device will need to be recharged every day. And that’s one other thing Apple didn’t say on stage.
