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What is a smartwatch? Here's everything you need to know

What is a smartwatch? Here's everything you need to know

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On the eve of Apple's big announcement, let's recall the strange history of the wrist-worn device

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Sometimes you hear a word so many times that you assume you know what it means. That's how I felt about the smartwatch. I vaguely remembered my father's Casio of the 1990s, and I had a general idea of what made a smartwatch smart. But after a conversation with The Verge's resident smartwatch expert, Dan Seifert, I realized there was plenty I hadn't known about the fashionable device.

I recorded that conversation for The Verge's new podcast, What's Tech? Give the show 15 minutes, and I promise you'll sound like an expert when your parents ask, "What the hell is this Apple Watch the news keeps talking about?"

We post new episodes of What's Tech? every Tuesday. Be sure to tune in tomorrow when Russell Brandom answers "What's a hack?"

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