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Apple Watch

3,187 'Apple Watch' stories November 2013 - September 2015
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Apple Watch is Apple's wearable is designed to help you stay active, motivated, and connected. It runs watchOS, and it comes in 40mm and 44mm size options.

How to see all Apple Watch apps

Table of contents

History

The original Apple Watch (later called Series 0) was released on April 24, 2015, after years of rumors. While there was a lot of initial hype around it, the third-party watchOS apps were slow to launch due to API limitations. Native apps were available in watchOS 2. The original watch came in 38mm and 42mm sizes.

The Series 2 Watch was released on September 16th, 2016 along with a Series 1 Watch. The Series 2 included the S2 chip, built-in GPS, and water-proof construction. The Series 1 included the S2, but lacked GPS and waterproofing.

The Series 3 Watch was released on September 22, 2017, and it included an LTE option and the S3 chip. The Series 4 Watch was released on September 21, 2018. New hardware included the S4 Chip, Electrical heart sensor w/ ECG app, and larger display (40mm and 44mm sizes).

Apple Watch Series 5 was announced during Apple’s fall event on September 10, 2019. Customers were able to purchase the device later that day, and it was released on September 20. The headline feature for this model was the wearable’s always-on display. The new display always shows the time and complications and is also the first from the company to include a built-in compass.

Apple launched international emergency services to every cellular model. Series 5 also brought back ceramic white, and new natural brush and space black titanium models.

Apple Watch Series 6 was unveiled on September 15, 2020 at the “Time Flies” event alongside the more affordable SE and new iPad Air. New features of the Series 6 include blood oxygen monitoring, new watch colors, faster S6 chip, new watch faces, and more.

Apple Watch features

Apple Watch is designed to help you stay active, motivated, and connected. The newest versions are Series 6 and SE while Apple still sells Series 3 as the most affordable option.

Features include:

  • Heart rate monitoring (all models)
    • Including high, low, and irregular heart rate notifications
  • ECG readings (Series 4 and later)
  • Blood oxygen monitoring (Series 6)
  • Workout tracking, Activity Rings, competitions, and awards
  • Works with Apple Fitness+
  • Sleep tracking (with watchOS 7)
  • GPS and GPS + Cellular models
  • Always-on display (Series 5 & 6)
  • Water-resistant to 50 meters
  • Emergency SOS and fall detection
  • Phone calls and Messages
  • Music, Podcasts, and more
  • Third-party apps available through App Store built into watchOS

watchOS

watchOS is the dedicated software that runs on Apple Watch. The current version is watchOS 7 that was released in fall 2020 and is compatible with Series 3 and later.

watchOS 7 brought new features like native sleep tracking, Family Setup, watch face sharing, new workout tracking types, cycling directions in maps, and automatic handwashing reminders.

Apple Fitness+ support and new cardio fitness notifications came with watchOS 7.2 And watchOS 7.4 is coming with the exciting new Apple Watch unlock for iPhone feature.

Current Apple Watch lineup

For all the latest deals on Apple Watch, bands, and accessories, check out 9to5Toys.com.

Subscribe to 9to5Mac Watch Time to get a bi-weekly discussion around Apple Watch and the future of the product.

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Designers render beautiful future Apple TV using Apple Watch, iPhone 6 design cues

Avatar for Jeremy Horwitz Sep 8 2015 - 6:55 am PT
33 Comments

What would it take to evolve the Apple TV from a plastic $69 puck into a covetable device worth a premium asking price? A design collaboration between designers Martin Hajek and Andrew Ambrosino provides some compelling answers, borrowing Apple Watch and iPhone 6 design cues to re-imagine the Apple TV as a two-tone, metal-clad box with a matching color touchscreen remote. The remote can be used for basic icon-based navigation of the Apple TV’s apps, or flipped over to reveal a basic game controller.

While completely different from the actual fourth-generation Apple TV expected to debut tomorrow at Apple’s special event in San Francisco, Hajek and Ambrosino’s renderings suggest an alternative reality where Apple could convince people to pay $300 for a set top box. Black and silver or white and gold versions are shown in the gallery below, each with interesting button designs…


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Siri giving some more ‘hints’ ahead of Apple event tomorrow

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Sep 8 2015 - 5:49 am PT
13 Comments

Keeping to the ‘Hey Siri’ theme of the event, the day before the big show, Apple has added a new set of reply phrases to Siri teasing the event tomorrow. There’s about a half-dozen new witty responses in addition to those added last week. To hear them, hold-down the Home Button activate Siri and say ‘Hey Siri, give me a hint’.

Obviously, these hints are little more than funny jokes (the binary one spells the word ‘Gotcha’ if decoded) and don’t give away secret product information. If you want details about what Apple is announcing tomorrow, read 9to5Mac’s exclusive roundup of the event, which will feature the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, iPad Pro, new Apple Watch bands and the unveiling of the long-awaited brand new Apple TV.

Check out the full gallery of new hints below and let us know in the comments if you find Siri saying any more hints we haven’t discovered …


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Tim Cook and Jonathan Ive rank 4th on Vanity Fair 2015 ‘Disrupters’ list

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Sep 8 2015 - 5:24 am PT
5 Comments

Vanity Fair has published a new 2015 list of ‘The New Establishment’, where reporters rank the most important visionaries in business and culture. Although Mark Zuckerberg takes the top spot in the Disrupters category, Tim Cook and Jony Ive get listed at the 4th spot.

This is down from their previous rank of number three in last year’s 2014 list. In the accompanying blurb, Variety singles out Ive as Apple’s new front-runner using the Watch to become the “creative mantle at the world’s most highly valued company”.


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Review roundup: Sorkin Steve Jobs biopic receives high praise from movie critics, Wozniak likes it too

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Sep 7 2015 - 4:06 am PT
10 Comments

The official Steve Jobs biopic, written by Aaron Sorkin, was shown at the Telluride Film Festival for a preliminary screening ahead of its cinema debut on October 9th. The reviews are in and seem to be very good indeed. Variety called it “a terrific actors’ showcase and an incorrigibly entertaining ride that looks set to be one of the fall’s early must-see attractions.”

The film is just over two hours long, with Michael Fassbender who plays Jobs, being a standout success. The Guardian described Fassbender playing the lead role as a transformative experience with others already lobbying Fassbender for an Oscar for the part. We’ve compiled some quotes from various reviews below. Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak seems to like the film as well …


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Apple Watch vs Moto 360 (2015): Which one should you buy? [Video]

Avatar for Dom Esposito Sep 6 2015 - 9:39 am PT
41 Comments

Now that Android Wear is officially compatible with iOS devices there’s a lot more smartwatch love to go around, at least for Apple fans. Android users have had a taste of the first generation, but Motorola’s new Moto 360 is one of the many new options available for both sides for the fence. The question is, should you give Motorola your money?


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iPhone 6s to have ‘3D Touch’ three-level, next-gen Force Touch interface

Avatar for Mark Gurman Sep 5 2015 - 2:27 pm PT
53 Comments

One of the cornerstone features of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, to be announced next Wednesday, is a screen based on the Force Touch technology from the latest MacBook trackpads and the Apple Watch. However, as we noted in previous articles such as our event expectations roundup from yesterday, the Force Touch feature in the new iPhones will actually be a next-generation version of the technology. According to sources familiar with the new iPhones, the new pressure-sensitive screen will likely be called the “3D Touch Display”…


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BlackBerry buys iOS enterprise software maker Good Technology in $425 million deal

Avatar for Zac Hall Sep 4 2015 - 8:47 am PT
1 Comment

BlackBerry is back in the news today as the company is making a move further into the enterprise mobility management space. BlackBerry is buying the Sunnyvale, California-based company Good Technology in an all-cash deal worth $425 million. For BlackBerry, the purchase is about investing into cross-platform mobile device management for enterprise customers, an increasing focus for the company since it’s reign as the top handset maker was stifled by iOS and Android.

Enhanced by Good, BlackBerry will expand its ability to offer a unified, secure mobility platform with applications for any mobile device on any operating system – supported with security that has been certified by governments around the world embedded in every component of the mobility infrastructure.

Included in Good’s portfolio of products is the Good Collaboration Suite for iOS and Android which includes enterprise-focused calendar, email, messaging, and document sharing apps for business customers.

In announcing the acquisition, BlackBerry notes that iOS makes up a majority of Good’s install base at 64% with Android and Windows Phone following. BlackBerry has also had its hand in more consumer-focused apps with BlackBerry Messenger for iOS plus a number of business-centric apps for the platform.

The two companies shared an executive Q&A to discuss the deal. Particularly interesting in that was Good CEO Christy Wyatt’s comments on wearables including the Apple Watch:

In addition to smartphones and tablets running iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry OS, Good will enable BlackBerry to add support for wearables. This is something we do today for both Apple Watch and Android Wear.

BlackBerry’s purchase of Good Technology comes as Apple itself grows its MobileFirst enterprise initiative with IBM and entering into a new agreement with Cisco to improve enterprise services for iOS users.

Apple’s ‘Hey Siri’ Event Roundup: Upgraded iPhone 6s, Bigger iPad Pro, Revamped Apple TV + Apple Watch updates

Avatar for Mark Gurman Sep 4 2015 - 7:31 am PT
97 Comments

Apple’s Wednesday, September 9th event is shaping up to be one of the largest in the company’s history. The Cupertino-based company is planning to unveil several major new products on stage, including a pair of new iPhones with revamped internals, a sequel to the Apple TV, a larger version of the iPad Air, a refreshed iPad mini, and new Apple Watch accessories. The company is also likely to discuss at least two of its latest software platforms: iOS 9 and watchOS 2. We’ve reported the lion’s share of what is to come at next week’s event, so this article outlines everything we’re expecting and adds some new details…


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Airbnb for iOS updated with support for Apple Watch

Avatar for Chance Miller Sep 3 2015 - 5:41 pm PT
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Airbnb, the popular service that allows you to instantly book homes, apartments, and more on the go, has today been updated with support for Apple Watch. The update, which bumps the app to version 15.35, adds support for Apple’s wearable and makes it even easier and quicker for both hosts and guests to handle reservations.

[tweet https://twitter.com/airbnb/status/639468592002543616 align=’center’]

With Airbnb on Apple Watch, hosts can quickly be notified of new booking requests and be presented with the traveler’s name, photo, requested dates, and personal message directly on the Watch itself. The hosts can then decide whether or not to accept the reservation on the spot. Hosts and travelers both can also initiate and reply to messages. Hosts have the ability to create and save replies, allowing them to keep their response rate high.

Introducing Airbnb for Apple Watch! The new app features Airbnb messaging, which hosts and travelers can use to communicate with each other instantaneously. Hosts can receive a new booking request complete with the traveler’s name and photo, requested dates, and personal message, and decide whether to accept or decline on the spot. Hosts can also initiate and respond to messages, as well as create and save quick, pre-recorded responses to help maintain a healthy response rate.

The update is available on the App Store now for free.

Patent application suggests possible Apple Watch-style interactive demo units for iPhones

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Sep 3 2015 - 5:30 am PT
0 Comments

As anyone who’s tried one of the interactive demo units for the Apple Watch will know, it’s a pretty effective way to understand what the Watch can do. From a patent application published today, it appears Apple may be considering doing the same thing with future iPhones.

While iPhone users may consider the devices pretty self-explanatory, and wonder why such interactive displays might be needed, the patent text does give one clue. The description specifically references Bluetooth devices as a potential application of the technology.

An electronic device may include features that require communication with another electronic device. For example, a Bluetooth accessory offered for sale may require a separate electronic device, such as a cellular telephone, to operate particular features of the Bluetooth accessory. These features may be desirable to demonstrate to a potential customer considering a purchase.

It’s also possible the units could be used to demonstrate how the iPhone interacts with cloud services, like Apple Music.

We include our standard disclaimer: just because Apple patents something doesn’t mean it will do it, but it’s certainly an interesting idea.

Via Patently Apple

More than 1M Apple Watches sold in China, reports large analytics company

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Sep 3 2015 - 4:36 am PT
7 Comments

A week after IDC estimated worldwide Apple Watch Q2 sales of 3.6M units, a large Chinese app analytics company has reportedly measured more than 1M Watches in use in China. TalkingData has access to huge volumes of data as the apps it monitors include WeChat, which has more than half a billion active users, reports Business Insider … 
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‘Next generation’ Apple Store redesigns to start rolling out this fall, Memphis one of the first in the US

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Sep 1 2015 - 5:03 am PT
10 Comments

A planning permission meeting for a new Apple Store in Memphis has seemingly revealed more information about Apple’s plans for its retail stores. According to the Apple representative, the Memphis project represents one of the first ‘next generation’ Apple Store designs that Apple is rolling out around the world, starting in the fall. The Memphis store will be part of the first rollout of the new look stores in the US.

So what does the ‘next generation’ Apple Store look like?


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UK Apple Pay users can now spend up to £30 in one transaction

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Sep 1 2015 - 2:47 am PT
21 Comments

Users of Apple Pay in the UK can now spend an extra £10 per contactless transaction, bringing the limit up to a total of £30, thanks to new contactless policy. Until today, the maximum spend on almost all Apple Pay transactions was £20. The £30 total now exceeds the average cost of a supermarket trip making it possible for UK Apple users to take advantage of Apple Pay at more places.


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Former Apple sapphire supplier GT Advanced to cut 40% of workforce as restructuring continues

Avatar for Chance Miller Aug 31 2015 - 2:54 pm PT
0 Comments

Nearly a year ago, Apple’s sapphire supplier GT Advanced Tech announced that it was filing for bankruptcy under Chapter 11, with the company parting ways with Apple as part of the restructuring. Today, The Wall Street Journal reports that GT Advanced Tech will be reducing its workforce by another 40 percent in an effort to further cut costs.


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Sony pitches analogue watch with limited iPhone integration on its crowdfunding site [Poll]

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Aug 31 2015 - 4:08 am PT
16 Comments

While some were waiting eagerly for the Apple Watch, and others got assimilated, there are still those who prefer traditional watches. That’s the market Sony hopes to appeal to with a new hybrid watch called Wena (which apparently stands for ‘wear electronics naturally’), which it’s pitching on its Japanese crowdfunding site First Flight.

It’s mostly a traditional analogue watch, but a link to an iOS app gives it limited smartwatch functionality. On the smartwatch side, you get fitness band functionality, and notifications are echoed to the watch in the form of an LED and vibration … 
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Apple Watch How-To: Control and use the Stopwatch app

Avatar for Sarah Guarino Aug 29 2015 - 5:00 am PT
3 Comments

Apple Watch comes with a stopwatch app built into it, which saves you time from grabbing your iPhone, opening up the Clock app and pressing the Stopwatch tab.

There are several different ways to open up Stopwatch on the Apple Watch. You can open the app by tapping on the orange icon with a complete white circle on the home screen, use Siri to open Stopwatch by pressing and holding on the Digital Crown, hands free by saying “Hey Siri open Stopwatch,” or depending on which watch face you are using from the Stopwatch complication on the watch.

When you first open up the Stopwatch, you see the Analog view.

Pressing the green circle in the corner will start the stopwatch. (Note the green circle will be in a different place depending on which hand you wear the Apple Watch as well which side the Digital Crown is on). The red circle stops the stopwatch and pressing the green circle resumes it. Pressing the white circle starts a lap. In the Analog view, swiping up from the bottom of the display gives a detailed view of the information, showing the break down of the laps.

There are different views of the Stopwatch that can be displayed. Switching between the different views requires you to press firmly on the screen for about a second until you feel the haptic feedback. Force Touching the display presents an additional three different views for the Stopwatch: Digital, Graph and Hybrid. Digital displays the stopwatch in a numerical view. Graph conveys how long each lap took on a graph. The last view, Hybrid combines the three different views Analog, Digital and Graph into one stopwatch.

When you are using the Stopwatch on the Apple Watch, the information doesn’t sync to the iPhone, nor does starting the Stopwatch on the iPhone allow you to continue and put laps from the Apple Watch.

Apple rolling out, encouraging mobile Apple Watch try-ons across stores

Avatar for Mark Gurman Aug 28 2015 - 10:30 am PT
6 Comments
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Apple is continuing to tweak its Apple Watch showroom experience within Apple Stores. Upon the initial rollout of the Apple Watch in April, Apple Stores installed large glass tables as a showcase for the different Apple Watch variations. Customers could test drive the Apple Watch via a demo unit connected to an iPad mini or try it on at a series of try-on stations. Following a pilot program across select Apple Stores across the world, Apple has now begun a widespread rollout of a new Apple Watch testing program called Mobile Try-On, according to Apple Retail employees.


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Tim Cook’s political savvy profiled as Apple joins Pentagon effort to build military wearables

Avatar for Zac Hall Aug 28 2015 - 9:32 am PT
11 Comments

Tim Cook’s efforts to influence policy in Washington DC in ways that better serve Apple have been hard to miss during his tenure as CEO. Pushing the company’s strong stance on privacy has been met with great pushback from the justice department and Apple was unhappy with how the ebook pricing case against it went so it’s no surprise its lobbying efforts have climbed in recent years. Now Politico, a news site focused on politics, has dedicated a lengthy 4,000+ word profile on Tim Cook’s relationship with Washington DC over the last four years.
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Review: The Premium One W2 dual dock is a perfect Apple Watch + iPhone companion [Video]

Avatar for Dom Esposito Aug 28 2015 - 6:59 am PT
7 Comments

Today we’re taking a look at what might be the best Apple Watch dock in the business. If you’re tired of just plopping your iPhone or Apple Watch on a table at night, this is a much better alternative. Meet Enblue Technology’s Premium One W2 dual dock and charging stand. Quite possibly one of the longest accessory names I’ve heard, but I’ll easily forgive that for the functionality it brings along…


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iPhone 6S will come in Apple Watch-like Rose Gold rather than Pink, lack sapphire, and have renamed Force Touch

Avatar for Mark Gurman Aug 27 2015 - 11:39 am PT
48 Comments
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Earlier this year, reports began to suggest that Apple would launch the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus in an additional color beyond the Space Gray, Silver, and Gold options that have been available in the popular iPhone 6 and iPhone 5s. Since then, there have been conflicting rumors regarding Apple’s color choice: some (including the Wall Street Journal) have claimed that the new iPhones would come in “pink,” while some analysts have referred to the color as “Rose Gold” (the discrepancy could be attributed to the similarity between colors). Today, our sources have confirmed that the new iPhones will actually come in a color that is unmistakably Rose Gold in both appearance and name…


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Mini-review: FŪZDock for Apple Watch, a compact charging stand ideal for nightstand mode

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Aug 27 2015 - 7:41 am PT
8 Comments

A lot of Apple Watch owners who splashed out on a nice charging stand must have been swearing at Apple when watchOS 2 was announced. Most existing charging stands out there position the watch vertically, which was the obvious thing to do at the time – but then along came watchOS 2, with Nightstand mode one of its headline features.

Nightstand mode allows the watch to serve as a bedside clock while charging – but only when on its side, with the buttons on top. Bad news for anyone who already laid out the cash for a vertical stand, and worse news for manufacturers whose stock was effectively rendered obsolete overnight.

For those who haven’t yet bought a stand, the good news is that manufacturers have been quick to respond. Zac Hall reviewed Spigen’s low-cost Apple Watch Night Stand, and now FŪZ Designs has launched a similarly-priced alternative in the form of the FŪZ Dock for Apple Watch … 
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Review: Geronimo takes a new & unique approach to email on iOS + Apple Watch

Avatar for Mike Beasley Aug 27 2015 - 7:00 am PT
12 Comments

Email apps are dime-a-dozen these days, and every single one claims it brings some incredible new tool to the table that will change the way you do email forever. Usually this just means you can attach images from Dropbox or some other otherwise unremarkable feature.

Geronimo is the latest in a long line of email clients for the iPhone, but unlike many others, it actually does manage to introduce a new management paradigm to the decades-old communication platform. Keep reading for details on its creative new inbox view and gesture-based management message management system.


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