Apple Watch

Strategy Analytics has a new report out that estimates that Samsung has once again become the number one smartphone manufacturer by units shipped. Although Samsung doesn’t officially report unit numbers, the analytics firm is estimating 83 million smartphones sold worldwide for the company. IDC is also reporting similar numbers.

Apple, which does report the number of iPhones it shipped, sold 61 million iPhones in the last quarter. This is a new record for Apple (which became the #1 manufacturer during the previous quarter with the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus) but is clearly outstripped by Samsung’s (estimated) number by about 20 million units.

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Apple has today added a new guideline to the App Store Review Guidelines, the first clause specifically targeted at Apple Watch development. This rule that Watch apps that only tell time will be rejected has actually been enforced since Apple started accepting WatchKit submissions as many developers complained to find their apps had been rejected for this reason. The documentation change now formalizes this rule into an official policy.

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As Apple continues its marketing campaign for the Apple Watch along with its release, the company has shared a recent interview with Christy Turlington Burns hosted by fitness lead Jay Blahnik at the Regent Street Apple Store in London.
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As lucky early adopters get their hands on the world’s first Apple Watches, Spigen has unveiled a collection of accessories designed to hold and protect them. The lineup includes the most aggressively-priced metal stand we’ve seen from any company, as well as affordable protectors that can keep an Apple Watch looking new — important if you want to guard against the bumps and scratches of everyday life, maximizing its trade-in value.

Spigen’s lineup starts with the S330 Watch Stand, an aluminum frame that resembles Apple’s classic iMac and Thunderbolt Display stands, and continues with five different cases and two anti-scratch screen protectors. They’re all currently available for pre-order, shipping in May…

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There are a whole bunch of ways to help you get to grips with the Apple Watch user-interface, from online videos to in-store workshops to personal setup to comprehensive flow charts to the full user guide. But having had mine for a few days, I thought I’d put together the instant overview I wished I’d had on day one.

I’m not attempting to cover everything the watch can do, or anything close to it – merely give you the 1-minute overview of where you find things so you’ll be up-and-running as quickly as possible when you take delivery of your watch … 
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There’s certainly a benefit to Apple’s use of sapphire crystal on Apple Watch. It’s extremely scratch resistant (even though stainless steel may not be) and will hold up over time, but how does it compare to sapphire crystal used in traditional watches? In a new video published by Unbox Therapy, Apple Watch was put up against a Tissot watch to see if Apple’s standards for sapphire crystal match up with traditional watchmakers….

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Apple CEO Tim Cook announced during the company’s Q2 earnings call this evening that he anticipates Apple Watch will launch in additional countries by late June. As of right now, Apple Watch is only available in 9 countries. A report earlier this month claimed that Apple would launch Watch in a second-wave of countries on May 8th, but we quickly debunked that rumor.

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As promised, Apple will hold its quarterly conference call with investors and analysts at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET to discuss its fiscal year 2015 second quarter results. These numbers include sales of 61.1 million iPhones, 12.6 million iPads, and 4.5 million Macs. Apple also reported $58 billion in revenue during FY 2015 Q2. During the latter half of the call, analysts and investors will have the opportunity to ask Tim Cook and company questions regarding today’s results and Apple’s future. While today’s earnings do not include Apple Watch sales and Apple doesn’t plan to disclose sales numbers, expect Tim Cook to at mention the company’s latest device. Stay tuned for our live coverage below:

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Screen technology analysis firm DisplayMate, best known for comparing the display performance of phones, tablets, and laptops, today published an extensive report on the screen inside the 42mm Apple Watch. Describing the screen as “excellent,” DisplayMate’s Dr. Raymond Soneira also explained the relative benefits of the Ion-X glass found in the $349+ Apple Watch Sport versus the Sapphire Crystal used in the higher end Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition models, notably praising the lower end model’s glass as superior across a number of tested categories.
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A small number of early Apple Watch users are reporting problems charging the device, as well as excessive drain of the paired iPhone’s battery, according to posts on Apple’s discussion forums and Twitter. According to training documents received by 9to5Mac, Apple is already aware of the issues, and offering solutions that may help affected users.

Users with charging problems have explained that the Apple Watch will physically connect to its charger and say that it’s charging properly, “but in reality the power diminishes as if no charger was plugged in.” In some cases, the issue appears to be in software, where one of two several-step tricks may enable the Watch to recharge:

1. Turn off and reset the Watch, first holding the side button, swiping to power off, then holding the Digital Crown and side button at the same time until the Apple logo appears. This alone may solve the problem.
2. If that doesn’t work, restart the connected iPhone, open the Apple Watch app, then Erase All Content and Settings using General > Reset. Set up the Watch again and see if charging works.

Some users have noted that their issues appear to be hardware defects, which are being resolved by AppleCare using either replacement Watches or charging cables. However, one user noted that what appeared to be a hardware problem may have been caused by not removing protective plastic on the Watch’s rear charging surface, and was resolved by restarting the Watch. These types of problems, as well as “super quick” iPhone battery drain issues are in the process of being addressed by Apple, as explained below…

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With Apple set to reveal its fiscal Q2 earnings after market close today, analysts are expecting double-digit year-over-year growth in all categories except iPads. Fortune‘s roundup says that analysts predict revenue of $56.84B, up a massive 24.5% year-over-year, and above the top end of Apple’s $52-55M guidance. Earnings per share is predicted to be $2.21, up a third on the previous year, with gross margin just shy of Apple’s top-end guidance at 39.4%.

Double-digit growth is expected in both iPhones and Macs. For iPhones, the prediction includes sales just under 56M, 32.6% higher than the same quarter last year, while Mac sales are forecasted to hit 4.7M, 13.6% up on last year … 
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I gave my first impressions of the Apple Watch on Friday. Three-and-a-half days in, and halfway into my one-week experiment, it’s time for an update. You may want to get a cup of your preferred hot beverage before reading this piece: it’s a long one!

It appears I was entirely alone in my uncertainty over whether or not the watch would win me over.  Strangers commenting here, and friends commenting on Facebook, spoke with one voice: I was, they all confidently predicted, going to keep it.

Are they right? Let’s begin by updating my first impressions … 
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Slice Intelligence, which earlier estimated first-day US Apple Watch pre-orders at just under a million, said that the number has now reached 1.7M, and that 376,000 of them have shipped – around 22% of pre-orders. KGI has estimated worldwide shipments of 631,000 in Q1, with Q2 shipments expected to hit 3.8M.

Slice gathers its data by scanning the email inboxes of more than two million participating online shoppers and extrapolating its numbers from there. Of those panel members who ordered an Apple Watch, 22% of them were given a shipping date of Friday to Sunday inclusive …

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Now that the stainless steel Apple Watch is becoming widely available, owners are beginning to post photos showing their shiny steel Watches have already developed scratches on the casing. Since Apple’s videos touted its steel as specially cold-forged to achieve superior hardness, people have been surprised to discover that the finish is easily scratched – many comparing it to the back of an iPod. While this isn’t shocking for 316L stainless steel, it is concerning to customers who just spent $549 or more on the mid-range Apple Watch. But don’t panic! As I’ll explain below, you can easily fix the scratches yourself for around $5…

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I can’t remember if we’re still mad at Consumer Reports for Antennagate but they seem to be doing a thorough job at testing the Apple Watch as evidenced in the video below. Notable from their Day 1 tests is that the Apple Watch Sport screen does scratch but only after going pretty far down the Moh’s hardness scale (7-rated) into the unlikely to ever happen category.

The Sapphire Apple Watch however wouldn’t scratch under any circumstances, though it doesn’t appear that Consumer Reports had a diamond pick to test it against. Regardless, for intents and purposes, you likely will never see a scratch on the face of the Apple Watch (the back is a different matter)…
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If you’re still debating on which Apple Watch model to order, we may have a bit of help/advice to offer. Apple Watch Sport is the cheapest option to go for, but what exactly will you be missing over one that’s more expensive? Well, we took the plunge, picked up a few of them, and put together a helpful comparison video between these models…

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