The Apple Watch is but one of several digital and tech products debuting today for Canadian shoppers.
While pre-orders and in-store previews of the company’s new high-tech wearable timepiece will likely draw the most consumer interest, the Apple Watch isn’t even the only anticipated Apple product to arrive in stores today.
Here’s a look at a few other gadgets and digital services that will be made available to Canadian technophiles:
Apple Watch
Apple stores will be showcasing a range of watch cases, bands and sizes for Apple’s new watch, with options including crystal displays and cases plated in 18-carat yellow or rose gold.
Although pre-orders begin today, the product won’t go on sale until April 24.
Canadian prices begin at $449 for the smaller, 38-mm model Apple Watch Sport. A standard version will be $699, and the high-end “Edition” model will be priced from $13,000.
The device requires an iPhone 5 or later, with at least iOS 8.2, although iOS 8.3 is recommended. The updated operating system released on Wednesday includes more emojis as well as an Apple Watch character.
Macbook
In this Monday, Feb. 23, 2015 photo, two new Samsung phones, Galaxy S6, left, and Galaxy S6 Edge, right, are shown at a special press preview in New York. Samsung officially unveiled the stylish new phones on Sunday, March 1, 2015, the eve of this week’s Mobile World Congress wireless show in Barcelona, Spain. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) (Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press)
Weighing just two pounds (or 0.92 kilograms) and now simply called “MacBook,” Apple’s newest laptop is its thinnest (13.1 mm) and lightest yet, even more so than the MacBook Air.
It includes a newly designed keyboard and a new, pressure-sensitive Force Touch touchpad.
Shoppers have a choice between silver, gold and grey, with basic models retailing for $1,549 in Canada.
Samsung Galaxy S6
The new Macbook, which debuts in stores on April 10, is shown in the demo room after an Apple event in San Francisco. (Eric Risberg/Associated Press)
Don’t forget about the Android phones.
Samsung’s Galaxy S6 phones debuts in retail stores, ditching a plastic body for a metal and glass casing that adds some style and heft, in an apparent bid to compete in a higher-end market against the iPhone.
Samsung is expecting to set shipment records for its new Galaxy line. Executives have already projected the company will not be able to meet demand in the near term for the S6 Edge model, which boasts a curved-edge display.
Prices will vary by carrier. A no-term price for the standard Galaxy S5 starts around $699.95 in Canada, while a no-term price for the S6 Edge would be around $829.95.
Television on your Xbox
This product image provided by Microsoft shows local TV listings as seen on the Xbox One’s TV guide. Microsoft is adding the ability to watch free live local TV stations like CBS, Fox, NBC and PBS through the Xbox One, with the help of an $80 dongle that connects your digital TV antenna to the game console’s USB port. (Microsoft/Associated Press)
Attention cord-cutters and cord-nevers — you’ll be able to watch free live local TV stations like CBS, Fox, NBC and PBS through Microsoft’s Xbox One.
You’ll need an $80 dongle that connects your digital TV antenna to the game console’s USB port. Shows will show up in the Xbox’s TV guide and be integrated into the console’s dual-screen “Snap” mode so users can play games and watch TV at the same time.
With the Hauppage WinTV-955Q dongle, gamers can also stream the local feed to a tablet computer and pause live shows.
The feature is rolling out now to Xbox One Preview members in the U.S. and Canada, and will be available to all Xbox gamers there over the next few months.
