Apple Watch Designer Shares Development Tidbits on Device's Fifth Anniversary

Today is the fifth anniversary of the original Apple Watch, which has soared in popularity since its 2015 launch. To celebrate the device's anniversary, designer Imran Chaudhri, who worked on the original Apple Watch team, shared some interesting tidbits about its development on Twitter (via TechCrunch).

applewatchfifthanniversary
Chaudri shared a reproduction of his original sketch for the Apple Watch's Home screen, with the circular icon shape inspired by the clock of what was originally called the dock. Prior to launch, the Digital Touch feature was known as Electronic Touch, for its potential as a "new form of emotional connection." The "ink" for drawing on the watch face was inspired by Chaudhri's graffiti days.


The very first Apple Watch prototype was built using a 6th-generation iPod Nano strapped to an Apple Watch band, created to demonstrate Siri and the Notification Center as key early Apple Watch features.


Many other interesting little tidbits were included in Chaudhri's reflections:

  • The butterflies in the Apple Watch Motion face were dead when they were captured in images to prevent harming live butterflies. Chaudhri owns the blue one.
  • The mechanism for the Loop straps was an evolution of velcro speedmaster straps worn by Apollo astronauts.
  • The Solar Watch face was created as a way for Muslims observing Ramadan to quickly see the position of the sun.

The Apple Watch has undergone multiple changes over the course of the last five years, transforming from a device entirely reliant on the iPhone to an LTE-equipped watch with its own App Store that can be used in lieu of an ‌iPhone‌.

Major features have been added and refined over the years, with major leaps in processing power and the addition of health and connectivity features like the aforementioned LTE capabilities, GPS, ECG functionality, irregular heart rate notifications, fall detection, emergency calling, and more.

In the future, rumors suggest the Apple Watch is going to get even more helpful features like monitoring of blood oxygen level and sleep tracking, which will make it even more indispensable than it is today.

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

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Top Rated Comments

Rogifan Avatar
65 months ago
Just looked up this guy and he’s on over 3K Apple patents including many of the original iPhone UI patents.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
badatusernames Avatar
65 months ago
This was really stood out for me

“The butterflies in the Apple Watch Motion face were dead when they were captured in images to prevent harming live butterflies. Chaudhri owns the blue one.”
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mtneer Avatar
65 months ago
I hope he ran this by Apple before posting! If he did, its refreshing to see a slight change in heart for the secretive company declassifying/ de-gagging this information after only 5 years.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrT8064 Avatar
65 months ago
I’m still using my Series 0 every single day. What other first gen Apple product has stood the test of time like this!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
phenste Avatar
65 months ago
Man. What an amazing product. Fascinating to see into the mind of people who originally conceptualized it; I wish Steve could’ve seen it.

Five year anniversary of owning one! ;)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Muramasa Avatar
65 months ago

I’m still using my Series 0 every single day. What other first gen Apple product has stood the test of time like this!
How the heck has your battery even lasted all this time?! Mine wouldn't really hold a charge after 2 years.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)