Apple Watch

Bloomberg first reported Apple’s plans to bring cellular connectivity to the Apple Watch at the beginning of August. KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo mirrored those claims yesterday, positioning LTE as the key upgrade for the new generation.

A report from CNBC today corroborates the stories, with a firmer launch window. CNBC believes the new watch models will be announced alongside the iPhone 8 unveiling at Apple’s (as-yet-unannounced) September event.

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Reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities has released a new forecast on the next generation Apple Watch. According to Kuo, the Apple Watch 3 will ship later this year with both LTE and non-LTE models offered. Kuo also expects the next Apple Watch will retain the same general design and not feature an obvious new form factor.

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Healthcare company Aetna may be following up on its company-wide initiative by bringing discounted prices of the Apple Watch to millions of its customers. CNBC reports that both Aetna and Apple have been holding meetings over the past week to discuss ways to make this possible.

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Last week Bloomberg reported that Apple is planning to release a new Apple Watch with cellular connectivity sometime later this year. All four major U.S. carriers are said to be on board, but pricing details for both the hardware and service are currently unknown.

It seems reasonable to expect the cellular Apple Watch to carry both a hardware premium over current models as well as a monthly service charge for network access. If that’s the case, how much would you be willing to pay for cellular connectivity?

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Canalys is out with new data on the worldwide wearable band market for Q2 2017 that puts Apple in third place behind Xiaomi and Fitbit. Separate analysis saw Apple beat both brands during the previous quarter.

The figures combine both pricier smart watches and cheaper fitness bands which explains Apple’s third place finish, but Canalys expects LTE connectivity to boost the smartwatch market during the second half of this year.

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Bloomberg last week reported that Apple is planning to launch an LTE version of the Apple Watch last year. John Gruber then suggested that a new form factor was also in the works – though he later added a sentence somewhat walking back the idea.

That tidbit came from an unconfirmed little birdie, though, so I wouldn’t bet the house on it.

But assuming there is actually a new form factor on the way, the natural assumption would be that it would be that we’re discussing the same model. A new top-of-the-range Watch with both LTE functionality and a new design. That is the most likely bet, but I could see a second possibility here …

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[Update: John Gruber adds that a new form factor is coming this year too:

“It’s hard to overstate just how big a deal this could be. No mention in Businessweek’s report, though, of the all-new form factor that I’ve heard is coming for this year’s new watches.”

This would mark the first external change since the Apple Watch debuted.]

[Update 2: Gruber has backtracked that claim a bit: “That tidbit came from an unconfirmed little birdie, though, so I wouldn’t bet the house on it.”]

Bloomberg reports that Apple is planning to release an updated Apple Watch model by the end of this year with built-in cellular connectivity. Bringing cellular connectivity to the Apple Watch has been rumored before but didn’t ship with the last revision which instead focused on GPS.

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For the last few weeks I’ve been using the Action Band for Apple Watch by X-Doria and it’s the most comfortable sport band I’ve worn to date. With unique design, both familiar and new color options, and a price tag 50% less than Apple’s Sport Band, Action Band is worth your attention.

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While several wearable companies have exited the market recently, Fitbit is still working on its new smartwatch. According to CEO James Park, the company hopes to release the accessory “ahead of the holiday season.” Park made the announcement in Fitbit’s Q2 2017 earnings release. 

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Predictions for a ‘strong second-half’ for Quanta computer support expectations of an Apple Watch Series 3 being launched in September …

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Apple has announced a new Apple Pay initiative to raise funds for the National Parks Foundation, running for the first half of July.

From July 1 through 15, Apple is donating $1 to the National Park Foundation for every purchase made with Apple Pay at any Apple Store, on apple.com or through the Apple Store app in the US

Tim Cook explained why the company is doing it …

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With the upcoming watchOS 4 update for Apple Watch slated to bring new features for diabetes management devices, we took some time to speak with Dexcom’s CEO Kevin Sayer this week about what it means for users. When Apple revealed watchOS 4 at its Worldwide Developers Conference this month, it featured Dexcom, makers of the G5 Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) popular among iPhone users, on stage as an example of an Apple Watch app that will benefit from new features in the release.

Sayer shared details on how exactly Dexcom devices will improve from these new features in watchOS 4, and more specifically why CoreBluetooth support will be a “game changer” for Apple Watch users with diabetes.

We also learned from Sayer about the next-generation of the company’s popular G5 CGM coming soon. And we had to ask about the chatter prior to WWDC that Apple is reportedly developing its own glucose monitoring technology, to find out his thoughts on the possibility of such features being built directly into future Apple Watch models.

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