How did Apple introduce its first Apple Watch in the Apple Store? This is an exclusive look at the Apple Watch demo kiosks
The tenth anniversary of the Apple Watch is about to arrive and the curiosity that emerges today from MacRumors is very special. How did Apple create its Apple Watch demo units in its Apple Stores? Let’s recall a little history, the Apple Watch was announced in 2014 and it was only in 2015 that it reached physical stores (in USA until June 2016). Just under a year ago it was declared obsolete. Custom demo kiosks were created, including both an iPad and Apple Watch. It’s strange to think about how the tablet and watch were merged into one product, but the following images show it very clearlyin addition to several curiosities from its manufacture to its implementation.
An iPad with custom software paired with an Apple Watch for any user to try
This idea was brought to life by iconic former Apple employee Jony Ive and his design team.. The iPad used for this kiosk was an iPad mini 2 with iOS 8.2 and an Apple Watch with watchOS 1.0. mounted in a custom enclosure. Interestingly, the iPad mini 2 has been radically changed. This was not a complete iPad as components such as the camera, microphone and speakers were removed.
The Apple Watch was modified in the same way but cables were added through holes to mount it to the base of the case. The strap was cut and therefore could not be removed from the kiosk. How did you connect it to the iPad? If you thought it was via Bluetooth, we’re wrong. Apple has made something simpler to combine the two, A Lightning cable was used connected to the diagnostic port of the Apple Watch and in turn connected to a converter board inside the iPad.
The Apple Watch with the shortest strap in history and with a Lightning port
After, A special application called Apple Watch Demo has been created to enable interaction between the watch and the tablet. Finally, the application connected to Apple’s servers in order to function fully.
The server and Apple Watch Demo no longer exist today
This ceased to exist a long time ago, notably in 2016 due to operational problems.. Currently, it is possible to try the Apple Watch directly on the Apple Store display boards. A YouTube user, AppleDemoYT, was lucky enough to be able to purchase one of these fully preserved kiosks and see how it performed over the years.
Batteries and a MagSafe 2 port on the Apple Watch demo kiosk
Another important curiosity, the iPad mini 2 could be charged with MagSafe 2, that’s right, the port that now exists on the latest generation MacBooks. This connector could charge the iPad, Apple Watch and the batteries inside the iPad. An additional Lightning port was also included at the top of the kiosk but was only used for data transfer.
It was a sign that Apple could do things almost perfectly. This was not the case, as updating both devices would unlink them and remove their demo content. There were constant heating issues and interaction failures. Like everything at Apple, These kiosks had to be destroyed but it is curious that this unit was saved without a scratch.
