Will the Apple watch be water-resistant?

Bluetooth range is 10 meters, so it would depend on the shape and size of the body of water in question, as well as what functionality you were attempting to take advantage of. If you're swimming in a pool, no GPS-based solution is going to have the positioning precision to track your laps adequately, and the shorter the pool, the worse it will be, so the location data from the phone is worthless in such a scenario. Likewise, the iPhone's location services are not precise enough for tracking windsprints between 50 foot stops.

I've taken my iPhone swimming on multiple occasions as I am a long time LifeProof user and I can tell you that it is completely worthless for calculating swim distance based on location data in a pool, even if said pool is outdoors with an unobstructed view of the sky. It's not until you can get into longer paths such as open water swimming that the iPhone gets even close to accurate for swim tracking.
I have not seen anything indicating that the HRM functionality depends upon the bluetooth tethered phone. Additionally, I wouldn't want to use it for training for rowing without it being waterproof (my LifeProof-clad iPhone is).

I'm still reading up on this but if I have to run with my phone so that this watch will work, Apple will have done a boneheaded fail.

Agreed. I don't just want to see this as a piece of expensive jewellery. It needs to be practical.

Really? $350 for a watch is actually pretty cheap. I don't own a watch which was less than that.

OF COURSE I would expect to be able to wear it in the water and while swimming...

What watches aren't water resistant to at least 100m???

I understand it's a "computer" on your wrist, but MANY watches before this have delicate circuitry inside and are still W/R up to at least 100m

They are going to have a lot of AppleCare+ sales/repairs/exchanges if this thing can't go even into a 4m lap pool...

I would hope that at least the sport version of the Apple Watch will be fully waterproof and that AppleCare will be adjusted accordingly.

It would be a shame to have to worry about splashing the watch with water in the shower or the constant taking off of the watch before showering which seems a bit ludicrous.

A sports model was mentioned and you can not use it while you swim?

I can live with the daily charge but for years now your watch goes everywhere with you, and I mean everywhere!

More reasons why I'm waiting for version 2.

I've already seen ads for "covers/cases" for Apple Watch. If that's the case, I could see Lifeproof coming out with something eventually.

watches are never totally "water proof". the amount of resistancy is typically based on a specific depth of water that a watch can normally function "at rest" without water penetration. "at rest" are the operative words. if you are trashing at that depth you increase the pressure on the item dramatically. if you dive into a 10 foot pool of water the pressure at the spot of impact that watch makes with the water may be greater than the pressure watch sitting "at rest" at whatever depth. i've sold many high grade movement luxury watches and my rule of thumb was always....if the watch is going to be exposed to water (and that would include vapor like steam in the shower)......take it off!

I have a Pebble watch which I sometimes forget to take off when I jump into a jacuzzi / hot tub after the gym. I don't know what water resistance rating the Pebble watch is (maybe someone here knows) but it still works fine! I used to fully submerge the Pebble watch for up to 40 minutes around 1 metre (whatever jacuzzi seat depth is).

The only thing you notice is that the bluetooth disconnects once submerged and reconnects again when out of the water after a short while.

Looking forward to using the Apple Watch in the same way!

If the Pebble can endure a jacuzzi I expect the Apple Watch to do the same.

According to someone at Apple today (29 March 2015), the watch can be worn in the shower, but cannot be worn when swimming.

oops!

moisture steam can cause havoc to a timepiece especially those with multiple pushers and other potential entry ports. don't wear it in the shower!

your Timex is not "waterproof". in can resist water penetration depending on how "sealed" Timex made it. there are watches that are made to resist water entry in thousands of feet of water. they still are not "waterproof". that word is misused and misunderstood by sellers (to their advantage) and buyers (to their sometimes unknowing- disadvantage).

good thing that i don't do much swimming but still this isn't for me. I'm a student not a workaholic man yet.