Apple Watch event: As it happened

And that's it from Tim.

Tim Cook now recapping though Apple TV, ResearchKit, Macbook and "our most personal device ever" the Apple Watch

Another video...

Apple Watch priced from $549 up to $1099 depending on your case/strap.

Apple Watch Edition priced from $10,000, available in limited numbers and from limited retailers.

Pre-orders available on 10 April and on sale from 23 April. On Sale in only nine countries, including the UK.

Apple Watch Sport pricing:

• 38mm - $349
• 42mm - $399

Millions of people are now watching a video about aluminium. It's like being back in chemistry class

"This is not your run of the mill aluminium" so we've prepared a short video

Cook confirms all-day battery life promising 18-hour battery life. Plays up the Magsafe charger

iOS 8.2 will come with an Apple Watch app where you will be able to find, download and install apps.

iOS 8.2 available today for download.

And that's it from Kevin Lynch and the apps. Tim Cook back on stage.

Next up, an app from Alarm.com which allows you to remotely control things like the lock on your front door or garage with live video feed right on your wrist.

Next up is Shazam for Apple Watch, which is an app that fits perfectly with the smartwatch form factor.

W Hotel app on demo now, allowing you unlock your door from your Watch. Your Watch is your room key, meaning you no longer have to go to the registration desk.

Digital Touch now being demonstrated, allowing Lynch send a hand-drawn picture to his wife. Cute but a bit boring.

Uber's app for Apple Watch now on display as well as Passbook showing boarding pass. You can now wave your Watch in front of the scanner showing a barcode.

Test call on stage was a little bit odd, but it worked and you get the idea of how it is going to work

Apple Watch will give you a notification to stand up if you have been sitting for a prolonged period of time.

Apple Pay using Apple Watch looks incredibly easy and convenient.

Lynch showing off Siri integration. Siri can be activated using voice or by pressing the digital crown. Allows you search for information or set calendar information

Finally, we're getting a look at some new apps with Kevin Lynch.

We've so far to learn anything new about what Apple Watch can do....

How Apple Watch helps raise the profile of people in Africa is unclear....

Christy now on stage to "talk about her next big adventure".

Apple has given the Watch to model Christy Turlington who has used it to run a half marathon in Africa to promote maternal health on the continent.

Cook going through the health and fitness features of the Apple Watch.

Apple Watch feature called Glances allows you swipe up from the bottom to access the most important information to you - calendar, weather, heart rate etc.

Going through the features we've seen already including taking calls, receiving messages, and sending your heartbeat to other Apple Watch users - which is a bit creepy to be honest.

Tim Cook talking about the different custom watch faces you can have on your Apple Watch. You can add different things to the watch face, including the date, your next meeting, weather etc

Finally, Tim Cook gets around to talking about the Apple Watch

The new Macbook will begin shipping on 10 April.

Apple is calling this simply Macbook, not Macbook Air. Sits between Air and Pro lineup. Pricing starts from $1299 (8GB, 256GB) up to $1599 for faster processor, 8GB RAM and 512GB storage.

Lots of battery in the new MacBook Air:

Another video, this time with Jony Ive

12in Macbook Air will come in space grey, silver and gold. Schiller says it is the world's most energy efficient notebook

The single port supports USB, VGA, HDMI and power.

Talking about connectivity now. Latest Bluetooth and Wi-Fi standards integrated into new Macbook, but what we want to know about is the USB 3.0 port.

We're now having a look at the inside of the Macbook and this is the first fanless Macbook from Apple. The logic board is 67% smaller than the one in the 11in MacBook.

Powered by Intel Core M, built on a 14 nanometre process to be even more power efficient.

Batteries are terraced allowing more to be crammed into its ultra-thin chassis and promising all day battery life.

Schiller now talking about the 12in display. 0.8mm thick but consumes 30% less light. Retina resolution.

Forcetouch trackpad, now integrates haptic feedback and allows for pressure sensitive gestures, meaning you can now Force Click. For example, force clicking a word gives you a Wikipedia definition. Force Click a file in the finder and get a preview of the contents of the file.

Apple's trackpad was the best around and sounds like it got much better.

Phil Schiller now up talking about the Macbook Air. 13.1mm, 2lbs and available in gold. Full-size keyboard goes all the way to the edge and it has been completely redesigned with something called a butterfly mechanism.

Basically I want one.

A new Macbook is now being shown on video, Looks like the wait for the 12in Macbook Air is over

Notebook growth even more obvious:

"This is the strongest Mac lineup we have ever had. We continue to provide the best experience for customers. Every year for the last decade, the Mac has outgrown the industry."

Tim Cook back on stage to talk.....Mac

ResearchKit will be released next month, and the first five apps will be available today. It will also be open source.

Here are the first five apps in the ResearchKit suite:

Williams says: "Apple will not see your data." Everything will be opt-in and users will be able to see their own data.

Now watching a video of people who are using ResearchKit

As well as Parkinson's, the first apps will look at cardiovascular disease, asthma and breast cancer.

Apple announces ResearchKit - a software framework for medical research which will see millions of iPhone users contribute huge amounts of data to researchers. The first five apps have already been created to tackle some of the biggest problems in the world of medial research. Parkinson's app will ask you to tap the screen or talk into the microphone to assess the level of degeneration.

Small sample sizes, frequency and subjective data are problems limiting medical research today

Jeff Williams now on stage to talk about how HealthKit can help with medical research

Tim Cook now talking CarPlay, HomeKit and Health

Hmm, no mention of Apple Pay expansion beyond US unfortunately.

Apple Pay - now with over 2,500 banks supporting the platform. Over 700,000 retailer locations now accepting Apple Pay. Coca Cola has 44,000 vending machines accepting Apple Pay, planning to have 100,000 by the end of 2015.

Now onto iPhone. 700 million units sold in total. It was the top selling iPhone in the world. Customer satisfaction score of 99% for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Tim Cook saying Apple TV price dropping from $99 to $69. "Apple TV will reinvent the way you watch television and this is only the beginning" - Cook.

Lots of cheering for Game of Thrones trailer. No idea if HBO Now is coming to anywhere outside US. Tim Cook back on stage

We are now getting a brand new Game of Thrones trailer

HBO Now channel on Apple TV as well as apps on iPhone and iPad costing $14.99-a-month

HBO coming to Apple TV. Cook mentioning Sopranos, Entourage, Sex and the City and of course Game of Thrones. Richard Plebler, CEO of HBO on stage to announce that Apple is the network's exclusive for its standalone streaming service HBO Now

Oh, Apple TV update.

Six stores in China opened in last six weeks. 21 in total, with plans to open 40 by mid-2016. 453 stores globally now. "That's a brief update" for Tim.

Tim talking about the breathtaking design of the new Apple Store in China

And here is the psyched Tim Cook saying "Good morning" seven times

The Chinese market is clearly very important for Apple

It's an Apple Store opening in China...

We're off with a video

Here. We. Go.

There are usually a number of high profile attendees at Apple's big announcements and the first we've heard of today is former US vice president Al Gore

Tim Cook is psyched:

Apple's live stream is up and running and the company continues to post backstage images from the event, including the following one:

This just in, iCracked, a company which fixes shattered iPhone screens, believes fewer people will crack their Watch screens:

While almost one third of Brits (31%) have damaged a smartphone, we expect that this figure will be significantly lower with the Apple Watch. We don't think the Apple Watch will have the same shatter problems that we see with the latest iPhones and we believe that it will instead be susceptible to the generic wear and tear that we see with more traditional watches.

With 15 minutes to go, people are beginning to file into the Yerba Buena event centre. Not long to go now.

How people are going to interact with their Watch is going to be key to the success or otherwise of the product. If it is too fiddly and over sensitive then people will simply stop using it, yet if it offers too little flexibility then people simply won't want to use it.

Apple has opted for a dual approach of a touchscreen and physical input in the shape of the Digital Crown, which will be used for scrolling and zooming. The touch interface will also be able to differentiate between a tap and a long press, opening up many more options for app developers.

With such a small screen (1.32in and 1.5in depending on which size you opt for) getting the interface right will be crucial.

Cathy Boyle, senior mobile analyst at eMarketer believes the Watch could be a catalyst for the entire wearables market just as the iPhone and iPad were to the smartphone and tablet markets respectively:

Enthusiasm for smart watches has been relatively low, suggesting the wearable tech sector needs a 'magic' product to spark adoption. Apple Watch is best positioned to be that product, given the device's close association with the iPhone and the size of the iPhone user base-one in four US consumers regularly uses an iPhone.

But smartphones already offer a convenient way to check the time, access the web and apps, and increasingly pay for products. So, to succeed with a smartwatch, Apple needs to create a compelling use case for the device, a feature set that offers far more than simply saving consumers the few seconds it takes to pull a smartphone out of a pocket or purse.

So there's just 35 minutes to go until Tim Cook takes to the stage at the Yerba Buena Center so if you need to go to the toilet/make a cup tea now is the time...

For the first time I can remember Apple is providing some interesting pre-event images and comments on its Live Events page, including this admittedly dull picture of some empty seats

Here are the guest badges awaiting pick up:

People are already looking to cash in on the Apple Watch accessory market, hoping it will become as big as the iPhone/iPad accessory market I imagine:

I have carried out a rigorous and scientific poll of the IBTimes UK tech desk on what we think the Apple Watch will cost in the UK, and here are our predictions:

[Note: Prices based on "mid-range" Apple Watch rather than Watch Sport or Watch Edition]

• Alistair Charlton - £699
• Anthony Cuthbertson - £550
• David Gilbert [that's me] - £500
• Ben "The Grouch" Skipper - too much

ONE HOUR TO GO KLAXON

Our own Alistair Charlton has this insightful question for Tim Cook and Apple:

Would you pay $11,000 for a first generation Apple Watch? Let us know in the comments.

Obviously the pricing of the Apple Watch will be what most people will be interested in during the event this evening, and noted Apple blogger John Gruber has given his predictions of how much the Apple Watch will cost you in its various collections - topping out at almost $11,000 for the most expensive model:

• Apple Watch Sport (all colours, with Sport Band): $349/399
• Apple Watch, steel, Sport Band: $749/799
• Apple Watch, steel, Classic Buckle: $849/899
• Apple Watch, steel, Milanese Loop: $949/999
• Apple Watch, steel, Modern Buckle (38mm only): $1199
• Apple Watch, steel, Leather Loop (42mm only): $1299
• Apple Watch, steel, Link Bracelet: $1499/1599
• Apple Watch, space black steel, Link Bracelet: $1899/1999
• Apple Watch Edition, Sport Band: $7499/7999
• Apple Watch Edition, Modern Buckle (38mm only): $9999
• Apple Watch Edition, Classic Buckle (42mm only): $10,999

Here are the three models side-by-side:

Apple first unveiled the Watch six months ago, so for those looking for a quick reminder of what it is all about.

• Apple's first wearable will be available in three versions: the Watch, Watch Sport and Watch Edition with each available in two sizes - 38mm and 42mm. There are six case finishes available and multiple straps which will determine the pricing of your own personal watch.
• The Apple Watch will connect via Bluetooth to your iPhone and allow you receive phone calls, text messages and notifications providing haptic feedback to let you know something is happening.
• The Watch will be charged with a version of Apple's MagSafe charger but Tim Cook has already warned that battery life will be only a single day.
• The Watch will run third-party apps and we are likely to see many demonstrations of these on stage today.
• The Watch will also facilitate Apple Pay allowing users to pay for items without having to take their phone out of their pockets.
• Apple has said the Watch Sport will cost from $349 but has given no details about pricing of other models or in other territories.

Aside from further details about the Apple Watch, many are expecting Apple to launch a brand new laptop, the 12in Macbook Air with a Retina Display which will be a radical move away from the current Macbook Air design, and according to a report earlier in the year, will remove almost all ports expect for a USB 3.0 port.

Apple has titled its 9 March event Spring Forward in reference to the fact that the clocks in the US went forward by an hour on Sunday morning, meaning the time difference is a slightly more palatable 7 hours with London....and more importantly means that I have a chance to see some of the Manchester United vs Arsenal FA Cup quarter final later on

One of the big things Apple will have to do today is convince people not that they should buy a Watch, but why they should buy one. I expect the presentation will show a variety of real-world scenarios where Apple Watch is a practical solution to your daily problems, and this is where apps will be key.

Those attending the Apple Watch event in San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center are already gathering outside the venue no doubt hoping to gain some insight into what might be announced by peering through the glass doors of the event centre...

So we're going to hear a lot more about Apple's Watch plans this evening, but what part of the market is Apple really going after. Jeremy Davies, CEO & co-founder of analyst firm Context has some thoughts ahead of this evening's event:

If you wear a watch, what do you do with your old one? While Fitbits can sit happily on the same wrist as one's watch, you can't wear both. Surely not.

Next, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry - there are 1.2 billion watches sold worldwide every year. About half of these are made in China at an average price of $3. At the other end of the scale, there are 29 million Swiss watches sold annually, and these have an average price of $739. This has to be Apple Watch territory.

So if I think of the Apple Watch as just that - a watch, albeit with some nice technical features that work with your phone and mean you don't have to have a fitness tracker - then I can visualise Apple going into bat for wrist space against someone like the Swatch group with $8.9bn in sales and Rolex with about half that.

Lenovo's CEO Yang Yuanqing is getting his pitch in early, claiming that his company already has a smartwatch on the market to match anything Apple can offer

While you will of course want to follow the Apple event through the prism of our witty repartee and banter here at IBTimes UK, Apple is also livestreaming the event on its own website. Here is our guide on how to watch it and below are some local time of when it kicks off:

• San Francisco - 10am
• New York - 1pm
• London - 5pm
• Amsterdam - 6pm
• Johannesburg - 7pm
• Bangkok - midnight
• Hong Kong - 1am (Tuesday)
• Seoul - 2am (Tuesday)
• Sydney - 4am (Tuesday)

It's still three hours to kick off, but we've girded our loins, visited the bathroom, stocked our stash of sugary supplies and are prepared for the long haul as we build up to Apple's Spring Forward event where we expect to find our much more about Apple's first wearable including the Watch's price, release date and key apps.

We could also hear an announcement about a 12in MacBook Air, a possible update to Apple TV and the expansion of Apple Pay outside of the US.

Whatever happens, we're going to be here by your side through it all. Welcome to the IBTimes UK Apple Watch liveblog...

Apple's Spring Forward event will kick off in the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco at 10am local time, which is 5pm GMT, when we expect to learn a lot more about Watch pricing, release date, apps and features.

IBTimes UK live coverage will begin at 2pm GMT so check back soon for updates.

For now, check out our full preview of the Spring Forward event to see what we expect to be announced.