Apple Watch

Update: The problem should now be resolved. Watch apps should upload as normal once again.

Developers are flocking to Apple’s developer forums today as the iTunes Connect submissions process is currently experiencing a glitch which makes it impossible for developers to submit apps that include Apple Watch extensions.

Rather than continuing submission process as normal, the system is incorrectly flagging up misuse of an Apple private framework called SockPuppetGizmo. Naturally, this is causing frustration in the developer community at the moment because it prevents apps from being submitted to the App Store.

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Two months after the initial launch of the Apple Watch, and only a day following the device’s debut at Apple Stores, sources have revealed Apple’s considerations for the 2016 release of a second-generation model. According to multiple sources familiar with Apple’s plans, the Apple Watch 2 is planned to gain a video camera, a new wireless system for greater iPhone independence, and new premium-priced models. Interestingly, it will also feature similar battery life to its predecessor…

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Slice Intelligence, which tracks online orders by scanning the email inboxes of more than 2M panel members, estimates that Apple has sold 2.79M Apple Watches in the USA, reports Reuters. The estimate does not include sales in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong or Japan.

Slice last month reported that around 1.5M U.S. orders were placed on the first day of pre-orders, with sales tailing off rapidly after this. KGI is estimating worldwide sales of 5-6M Watches in Q3, 20-30% down on earlier estimates.

Sales are likely to be boosted by the availability of in-store pickup as of this week, with global sales set to grow significantly following a launch in a second wave of countries later this month. Apple has not released any numbers, simply saying that it was “thrilled” by the popularity of the Watch … 
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Well-known developer Steve Troughton-Smith, who previously was able to get real UIKit-backed apps running on Apple Watch with watchOS 2.0, now says that he has gotten native UIKit apps running on watchOS 1.0. Smith shared a video showing off the feat, which can be seen via the embed below.

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Earlier this week we noted that Apple has refreshed the Beats by Dre wireless Beats Powerbeats 2 earbuds with new colors aimed at Apple Watch Sport users. Today, Apple has updated its Beats headphones website to promote the new line of headphones along with a new price: $179, which is $20 less than the previous price at $199.

With its onboard storage for music and Bluetooth connection, Apple is promoting these headphones as a way to tap into listening to music with the Apple Watch without the need of a connected iPhone. Even with the ties to Apple and the new Apple Watch-centric marketing campaign, the new earphones will still work with other Bluetooth media players.

We noted earlier today on 9to5Toys that some retailers are offering as much as $50 off of the wireless headphones, and Amazon is selling the accessory at various discounted prices ranging from $169 to $189.

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Compare iOS/iPhone OS 1.0 with iOS 9.0, and you’ll see that the similarities are incredible — Apple had the right formula on day one, and just kept tweaking it over time. But try the same exercise with the Apple TV and you’ll see plenty of major changes, since a series of annual UI refreshes took years to settle on the interface we know today. Ditto with the iPod nano, which went through several major UI iterations as it shifted from Click Wheel to touchscreen interfaces. The lesson: Apple normally gets a lot more right than not, but isn’t afraid to make major UI changes if they improve the user experience.

Although some of the Apple Watch UI elements appear to be locked in place — such as the Home Screen with a grid of unlabeled circular icons — other parts of watchOS are clearly being changed for the better. For instance, watchOS 2 introduces Nightstand mode, which lets the Apple Watch continue to serve as a timepiece when it’s charging next to your bed. Nightstand mode is a nice feature, and might replace your bedside alarm clock, assuming that you’re willing to turn your Apple Watch into landscape mode to use it. But there are several ways that it could be better, and I’d like to know whether some of the possibilities appeal to you as much as they do to me…

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Apple this evening has launched a new Reserve & Pickup system for Apple Watch customers in the UK, Australia, and other countries as they change to June 17th. Earlier today it was reported that Apple Watch would soon be available in retail stores and this development is a step towards that for customers. Apple’s webpage for Reserve & Pickup says that Apple Watch models are available by reservation in retail stores, although availability will still be sparse and limited to select variants of Apple Watch.

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Some Apple Watch models shipping as soon as 1-3 days ahead of Apple Store availability

Apple said at the beginning of the month that it would fulfill all May Apple Watch orders with the exception of Space Black Link Bracelets by the middle of the month, then begin selling some models in retail stores for the first time. We’re hearing now that some Apple Retail Stores are preparing to begin limited in-store sales as soon as this week ahead of the Apple Watch’s expansion into seven more countries next Friday, and there will be a small perk for those who’ve waited…
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image credit: Ben Thomas

Apple quietly updated its Powerbeats2 headphones to match Apple Watch Sport colors this week signalling a new move to focus audio accessories to the Apple Watch ecosystem. The new colors, which match the Apple Watch Sport Band colors of Blue, Black, Green, Pink and (updated) White, are available in Apple Stores but haven’t arrived at other retail locations yet.

The Apple Watch can store and play 2GB of music without a tethered iPhone wirelessly via Bluetooth 4 and with watchOS 2 will get access to many more audio applications. It wouldn’t be out of character for Apple to release over the ear Beats headphones in matching colors or even PowerBeats Wireless to match the more expensive stainless steel Apple Watch.

The new Powerbeats2 headphones will of course work with all Apple and other Bluetooth 4 devices even though they appear to be focused on the growing Apple Watch market.

Apple Powerbeats2 Wireless earphones still come in their original, dare I say, dated colors for $199 ($189 Amazon, $169 Best Buy or $160 Ebay) but the original White version has been moved from the old lineup the the new lineup. Original urBeats wired headphones can be found for as little as $45 via 9to5Toys.com

(Via Benjamin Thomas)
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Popular podcasting app Instacast for iOS and Mac is shutting down as the founders can no longer fund it or any of Vemedio’s other projects.

In an email sent to paid members, Martin Hering says that all of Vemedio’s products will be ‘discontinued’, with Instacast being the most well known app affected by this. The company says they will keep the servers up for as long as possible so current users will not be left with non-functional apps immediately.

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blueLounge isn’t a typical Apple accessory maker. If you look through its 15-year backcatalog of releases, you’ll notice that its products are markedly different from somewhat overlapping alternatives produced by rivals — intensely practical and cleanly-designed, yet sometimes so conceptually minor that they’re hard to review. Take CableDrop and CableDrop Mini, for instance, circular adhesive pads that each do nothing more than hold one cord in a fixed position wherever you want it. I use CableDrop Mini every day with my MacBook Pro’s power cable, but can’t justify a full review of something so utterly basic.

The simultaneous release of two new blueLounge accessories — Portiko ($25) and Pixi ($10) — gives me the rare opportunity to cover one of the company’s minor but practical items alongside one that’s more gadget-like. Portiko (shown above) is a wall- or table-mountable power source attractive enough to put on display between the four devices it can charge at once. It has enough USB and AC power outlets to handle a MacBook, iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch at the same time, or other combinations of devices. Pixi is blueLounge’s latest cable management solution, a set of elegantly-built elastic and plastic bands that wrap around bunches of cables, tidying up your desk. Read on for more details and pictures…

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Well-known developers Steve Troughton-Smith, Saurik and Adam Bell have managed to hack the Apple Watch on watchOS 2 to run truly native apps on the device. Although Apple is advertising native apps with watchOS 2, it isn’t as ‘native’ as some developers wanted or expected. The logic code now runs on the watch, but raw access to the user interface is still not allowed on watchOS 2.

This means frameworks like UIKit cannot be used to draw truly custom UI. Instead developers must rely on the same techniques employed with current WatchKit apps that revolve around image sequences to create more interesting effects.

In the demo, video embedded below, the team managed to get a fully interactive 3D object running on the Apple Watch powered by Apple’s SceneKit framework.

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Deleted posts from Apple’s support forums and active discussions elsewhere online indicate a growing concern for Apple Watch users: the inability to downgrade from a newer version of watchOS to an older version. The issue, which first became apparent when users discovered that watchOS 1.0.1’s heart rate monitoring was less frequent than in watchOS 1.0, is that the Apple Watch apparently lacks a user-accessible recovery or DFU (device firmware update) mode. While there has been a spike in downgrade-related complaints since Apple released the beta version of watchOS 2 on Monday, the issue remains a concern for some watchOS 1.0.1 users, as well.

Without access to such a mode, users with watchOS-related problems are currently being instructed by AppleCare representatives to send their new Apple Watches back to the company for service, often with “out-of-warranty repair” charges. By comparison, iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV and Mac users all have the ability to downgrade to earlier OS versions on their own, without sending their devices back to Apple…

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Although Apple originally debuted Continuity in iOS 8, enabling iPhone calls and SMS messages to be received and answered on Macs or iPads, the feature only worked when the iPhone, Macs, and iPads were on the same Wi-Fi network. Today, T-Mobile announced that it is “the only mobile network operator in the world” with support for a new and previously unannounced iOS 9 feature: Continuity support has been added to T-Mobile’s cellular network, so a Mac or iPad can receive an iOS 9 iPhone’s calls even when the iPhone isn’t on the same Wi-Fi network.

This means that “T-Mobile customers will be able to answer that important text message or call on your Mac or iPad even if you left your phone at home,” explained T-Mobile, so “you can leave your phone on your desk and just take your tablet or your Mac to your meeting and never worry about missing anything.” Implicitly, the iPad or Mac would need to be connected to a Wi-Fi network for calls and SMS messages to come through. The feature is active as of the iOS 9 beta, so “customers will need the iOS 9 beta to use the new feature, and it will be available to every T-Mobile customer with an iOS device later this year when iOS 9 is publicly available.” And there’s more…

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Up until recently, unfinished “beta” versions of iOS and OS X were only officially available to registered Apple developers, enabling companies to make their apps compatible before the operating systems were publicly released. But to increase openness and expand its pool of beta testers, Apple decided to offer “public betas” of both iOS and OS X to interested users, starting with iOS 8.4 and OS X Yosemite. Very soon, both iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan will become available as public betas under the Apple Beta Software Program, which you can sign up for here.

Should you install these new and unstable betas on your iPad, iPhone, or Mac? What can you really expect after doing so? Below, I’ll provide you with some guidance so you can make an informed decision to participate in the public betas, or hold off…

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I described my own journey with the Apple Watch, from smartwatch skeptic to daily user, in a four-part diary (parts one, two, three and four). My uncertainty was less to do with the specifics of the Apple Watch and more to do with whether there was a role in my life for any kind of smartwatch.

But there are those who have been holding off for another reason: they steer clear of first-generation Apple products of all kinds. Their thinking is that the 1st-gen model tends to have a bunch of glitches, with the 2nd-gen product not just getting those worked out but also adding significantly to the functionality too.

This is a perfectly reasonable viewpoint, with significant historical evidence behind it – from the original Macintosh onward (one could even say from the Apple I). But with Apple having added a whole bunch of functionality to the existing Watch via watchOS 2, has the company managed to give the first-gen refuseniks enough reason to reconsider … ? 
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Apple’s SVP of marketing Phil Schiller this evening gave an interview on John Gruber’s podcast The Talk Show during which he addressed a variety of different topics. Gruber and Schiller together discussed Apple’s WWDC announcements, such as watchOS 2 and Apple Music. The two also talked about many of Apple’s decisions over the past couple of years, including the company’s obsession with making the thinnest devices possible and how on earth they still sell 16GB devices in 2015.

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There were so many announcements during the WWDC keynote yesterday that even people who follow Apple for a living (and expected most of the details) were overwhelmed. New versions of iOS, OS X, and watchOS were only three of the biggies, alongside the official debut of Apple Music and a lot of small but interesting new details.

Since the keynote ended, I’ve been sorting through all of the stories, as well as all three new operating systems. What follows are my picks for the ten most game-changing WWDC 2015 announcements, some of them requiring more explanation than others. They’re not in rank order, but there’s definitely one that I thought was the biggest of the bunch. Share your picks in the comments section below…

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Less than two months after the Apple Watch went on sale (and just as it’s becoming available for same-day purchase), Apple officially announced watchOS 2 — the first major software update for its new platform — at WWDC in San Francisco. Available in beta form for developers now and in final form for consumers this fall, watchOS 2 adds a collection of new features to the Apple Watch, some of which are clearly visible in the beta.

In the galleries below, you’ll see all three of watchOS 2’s new watch faces, improved Digital Touch drawing, enhancements to music playback, the new Nightstand mode… and much more! All of the galleries are clickable, which can help you see more detail in the iOS 9-related Apple Watch shots…

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