Apple-Spring-Forward-Apple held their big Spring Forward media event yesterday, and in case you missed it, some very exciting announcements were made!

First off, as the star of the event, the Apple Watch finally has a confirmed ship date of April 24th and a starting price tag of $349. The luke-warmly anticipated timepiece will have an 18 hour battery life, support third-party apps, and host a myriad of health and organizational features outlined at the preview last September.

Secondly, and perhaps most exciting, is the fact that HBO's stand alone programming HBO Now will be available exclusively on Apple TV when it launches early next month. For just under $15 per month, cord-cutters will now be able to enjoy the entire premium channel's line-up without forking over the extra dough for a cable or satellite package.

Additional announcements included:

  • The refresh of the MacBook, which will now weigh 24% less and come in gold
  • ResearchKit, an open source software framework that will allow your doctor to get information directly from your iPhone via tests and user documentation
  • Apple Pay continues to gain momentum with 700,000 stores now accepting the digital payment system and an Apple Pay enabled Coke vending machine on the way

Tim Cook, Apple's CEO and host for the event, also announced that over 700,000,000 (Yes, 700Million!!) iPhones have now been sold.

To have even more tips and tech news delivered right to your inbox, SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER.