apple watch
Apple

Apple

Making gadgets matter

Apple has a virtually unmatched history of inventing category-defining gadgets that we suddenly can’t live without. Lately some critics have wondered if the company has lost its knack—it’s been three years since its last major new product, the Apple Watch. But Apple just keeps growing, reliably earning upwards of $10 billion in net income per quarter and, in August, becoming the first publicly traded American company in history to top $1 trillion in market capitalization. Steady improvements in the flagship iPhones command ever-higher prices. And the company is innovating in smaller but nonetheless profound ways. The latest Apple Watch, unveiled Sept. 12, will be able to measure the electric signals of a wearer’s heart by generating electrocardiogram readings—producing data that can then be analyzed for potential health issues or shared with a medical professional. In other words, it could save lives—not bad for a $399 gadget. —Alex Fitzpatrick

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