The Apple Watch Series 4 Fixes Accidental Screenshots

I don't know if this issue was exclusive to me when I had a Series 0, but I would always manage to take accidental screenshots on my Apple Watch. The crown and side button would both have to be pressed for this to happen. Because the side button sticks out of the Apple Watch, this would happen often. One example is if I reached into my pocket for my phone, I would find my phone had a random screenshot later in the day. The Series 4 fixes this with a side button that's embedded into the watch case. This makes nearly impossible to take accidental screenshots, and it's a much appreciated change. I think the design looks better as well. Overall, the Series 4 hardware change gave Apple the opportunity to change a lot with the Apple Watch's previous design, and I'm glad they looked at the smaller details, like the side button, and made improvements. 

Apple Sued for Swollen Apple Watch Batteries

Gina Priano-Keyser is filing a class action lawsuit claiming that Apple Watches are subject to having their batteries swollen, ultimately causing the screen to pop off [Source: MacRumors]. The lawsuit states that this could pose a safety issue to consumers. Apparently, Apple was supposed to repair these for free for up to three years after purchase, but supposedly attributes the damage to an accident, which voids the offer.

This issue actually happened to my first generation Apple Watch last year. I was sitting in a chair and I suddenly heard a loud pop come from my wrist and the screen had popped off. It occurred on July 8, 2018 and I had received my watch in early June of 2015, so the three year deadline was gone by then. When I took it into the Apple Store, I was told that it was likely due to a swollen battery and that it would cost about $100 and take 5 days to fix. They ended up replacing it with an Apple Watch Series 1 (instead of first generation) with an aluminum case. I gave it back stating I had a stainless steel case. A few days later, I got a refurbished original Apple Watch with a stainless steel case, but then they overcharged me by about $150. After they realized they made an error, they sold it to me for $80, since it was a refurbished replacement. Overall, it was a frustrating experience that went in a lot of circles. If people really were injured due to the swollen battery, I can only imagine how much more frustrating it was for them. Apple should find a way to properly address this issue and do more testing as to what makes these batteries swell.

How to Setup Cellular on an Apple Watch

The Apple Watch Series 3 introduced cellular connectivity for Apple Watch. Because the Apple Watch is so dependent on your iPhone, you need your iPhone to enable cellular. Your watch will have the same phone number as your iPhone, so any calls you'd normally receive on your iPhone will also be on your Apple Watch, should your watch be out of range from your iPhone. All you need to do is go through the Apple Watch app, tap Cellular on the "My Watch" tab, and follow your carrier's instructions. While Apple advertises a $10/month cellular plans, some carriers may deviate from that. In addition, many carriers have a one time activation fee.

Apple Watch ECG Feature Only Available in the United States

While this is nothing new, it is important to reiterate that the ECG feature on the Apple Watch Series 4 is only available to owners in the United States. This is because of regulations, and the Apple Watch has not been approved outside of the U.S. at this time. The reason to bring this up is because, as MacRumors has pointed out, changing your device's region to the United States will not affect this. Only models purchased in the United States will work with the ECG feature. Hopefully, other countries get this feature soon. This obviously isn't Apple's fault. It's just part of the process.

Apple Watch Series 4 Getting ECG Feature in Next Update

Apple Watch Series 4 will be getting an ECG feature, which is arguably one of the flagship features of the device, alongside the major redesign. The ECG feature can help determine if you may be suffering from atrial fibrillation or irregular heart rhythm. The next watchOS update, watchOS 5.1.2, will enable this feature. This feature is still being approved in most countries, but it will be available in the United States. The update is in beta testing, but we can expect the update by the end of the year.

Minor Change to Apple Watch Dock

For no clear reason, Apple has changed the model of Apple Watch Dock sold on their online store today. There are no appearance changes. We can only guess there are internal changes. The new model number is MU9F2AM/A, while the previous one was MLDW2AM/A. This is sure to spark theories about AirPower, but in reality, it's likely going to mean nothing in the long run. The dock is $79 on Apple's website.

Apple Watch Celebrates Veterans Day with Activity Challenge

Sunday, November 11 is Veterans Day. To celebrate, Apple has created a challenge to get people out and about. If you do a workout of 11 minutes or more on Veterans Day, you'll receive a new achievement badge. This applies to any workout done through the Workouts app on Apple Watch.

Image Credit: MacRumors

Spotify Coming to Apple Watch

With the Apple Watch becoming more and more independent, Spotify can only benefit with an Apple Watch app. There are certainly apps that work better than others on Apple Watch, but I think we can agree that a music app is a smarter pick than something like Twitter or Day One. Spotify’s Apple Watch app is still in public beta, but I’m sure we’ll see it hit the public soon. 

Apple Watch to USB-C Cable

Today, Apple released a new cable, which can charge Apple Watch using a USB-C cable. It features the same magnetic charger, but it features a USB-C end, instead of USB-A. This comes with a plethora of rumors suggesting that the iPad Pro will feature USB-C instead of Lightning. While it's entirely possible that the next iPad Pro may feature some ability to connect to the Apple Watch using this cable, it's more likely a coincidence. The cable is 0.3m in length and costs $29.

Apple Watch Monogram

The Apple Watch has had monograms since its introduction. However, MacRumors showcased a design that looked really clean that I wanted to show off. The image below is of an Infograph watch face with one complication: the monogram. The monogram is the Apple logo, as Apple devices have a special character reserved for the Apple logo. Using the  character as the monogram text creates a watch face that imagines if Apple put their logos on their watches prominently. It looks really nice with the black and white contrast.

Image Credit: MacRumors

Apple Watch Series 4's Smaller Battery

Two things I always look for in the newer Apple Watches are processors and batteries. The better they are, the further we get away from Series 0. The Series 4 batteries have less capacity than the Series 3, despite having the same advertised battery life [Source: MacRumors]. The 44mm models have 16.5 percent less capacity and the 40mm have 19.7 percent less capacity. 20 percent definitely sounds like a lot. Apple says that they should have the same 18 hour battery life as the Series 3, which is believable. The display and processor have better efficiency with power consumption. Despite this, guessing battery life is not an exact science, as it varies with usage habits. Hopefully it's not too noticeable, especially as the lithium-ion battery degrades.

Apple Watch Series 4 Fall Detection Is Off By Default

Apple Watch Series 4 has a new feature for detecting hard falls. When you fall, your Apple Watch should be able to prompt you if you're okay and offer emergency services. It's like putting a LifeAlert into your Apple Watch. However, it is not enabled by default, unless the Health app knows you are older than 65 years old. While that may be a bit surprising at first, it does make a lot of sense. Younger people are typically less affected by falls and do activities that may trigger the sensor. Since there is an option to call 911 when the feature is triggered, there is potential for accidental calls. To enable Fall Detection for all ages, go to the Emergency SOS section of the Settings app in the Apple Watch app and enable it.

Pre-Orders for the Apple Watch Series 4 and iPhone XS

According to Ming-Chi Kuo (via MacRumors), is stating that Apple Watch Series 4 pre-orders are "better than expected," but also stating that iPhone XS (not iPhone XS Max) pre-orders have been "lower-than expected." This is to be expected, since the Apple Watch Series 4 was seen as the highlight of the event for many, while the iPhone XS did not bring anything new for many. It will be interesting to see how the iPhone XR compares in terms of pre-order sales.

Gather Round Event: Quick Thoughts

Today, Apple had their annual iPhone announcement event. Pretty much everything was leaked this morning or in the weeks prior to today, but let's go over it anyway. One major difference to this year's rumors than previous rumors was the lack of iPhone rumors. We pretty much knew there would be three models, one an 6.1-inch LCD in multiple colors and the other two being different sized OLED models. We also knew their names, the iPhone XS, the iPhone XS Max, and the iPhone XR (Marketing team really burned the midnight oil on these ones). Other than that, we didn't know much. And that's because there was nothing else to say. There is next to nothing new with the iPhones other than "this is faster" and "this is 50% better" or "this lasts 30 minutes longer than the iPhone X." The only purpose of this generation of iPhone is to make a bigger iPhone X and a cheaper iPhone X, the two biggest requests since the iPhone X came out. You can hear the nervousness in the speakers' voices, because they were stretching an event that should have been 45 minutes tops into 2 hours. "Look at this photo! Doesn't it look great?" Like, yeah, but you said that last year. There's nothing groundbreaking. "We have three developers to lengthen the show!" "I'd like to invite up John Appleseed to reiterate exactly what I just said." It was painfully slow at times. And I know this is an "S" update, but even the iPhone 6s had Live Photos and 3D Touch. The iPhone 5s had Touch ID. All models still start at 64 GB, which seemed weird for me. I feel like the higher end models should have started at 128 GB, especially with the decline in SSD prices in the past few months. By far, the most surprising part of the entire keynote was Todd Howard coming on stage, even if what he was showing off wasn't groundbreaking either.

Let's talk about the Apple Watch. This was definitely the highlight of the show, even if we knew about it due to leaks. That one leak was probably the best we've seen it and the rest of the images we saw didn't really do it justice, so I'll have to see it in person when it comes out. I am long overdue for an upgrade from my Apple Watch Series 0 and this is an Apple Watch worthy to upgrade to. That ECG/EKG (they're the same thing) looks really cool. The focus on health is a huge selling point. You could tell the speakers were catering this model towards Series 0 and Series 1 owners, because they listed every feature to come out since Series 1 at the end of the Apple Watch section. It would've been nice if cellular came standard on the Series 4, but I can't really complain about that. The option of cellular just confuses me, because that was what defined Series 3, even though it was optional there too. The Series 4 is definitely on the pricier side, so when you throw in all of these optional features, it feels like you're at a car dealer.

We got nothing on AirPower, which we now have reason to believe has been delayed further. We literally only got updates to the iPhone and Apple Watch. Some minor news includes the iPhone X, the iPhone SE, the iPhone 6s, and the Apple Watch Series 1 being discontinued.

Apple Watch Series 4 Screen Size

According to 9to5Mac, Apple Watch Series 4 will have an increased screen size of what is expected to be 384x480. This would be up from 312x390. This is more than the entirety of the original iPhone's screen, which was 320×480. This is estimated using an Apple Watch simulator that was modified to satisfy what we know so far about the device.

Source: 9to5Mac

watchOS and iOS Timers

When doing something like laundry, I like to put a timer on my phone. But when I put it on my phone, my Apple Watch won't sync up. In the leaked image of the Apple Watch Series 4, the Timer complication is visible. This is nothing new, but I'm hoping Apple would make the obvious choice to have timers set on iPhone sync up to timers on Apple Watch. This would let a user set a timer on their phone, and look at their watch to see it ticking down on the main watch face. Hopefully, this small change makes its way into watchOS 5.

Huge iPhone and Apple Watch Leak

Today, I was very surprised to see leaks of the iPhone XS and the Apple Watch Series 4. I really didn't want to see them, because I like genuine surprise, but these images have been plastered all over the internet. I'm also plan on getting an Apple Watch Series 4, so I was hoping to be floored by its design at the event, not because of a leak. I won't be embedding the images in this post just in case, especially when you can find them anywhere on the internet, but I'll leave links to them for those curious. Here are my thoughts on the leaked devices.

9to5Mac reported on what appears to be gold iPhone X-like devices that come in two sizes. The image is breathtaking. It almost looks holographic. There isn't much else to say here, because it just looks like a regular iPhone X aside from the gold color and size options. They also report that the name for it is iPhone XS.

9to5Mac later showed a leaked image of the Apple Watch Series 4. As an original Apple Watch owner, I've been holding out for this one. I've been so tempted to upgrade, but I knew this would be the one to floor me. I've been waiting for a redesign, and now is the perfect time with watchOS 5 being restricted to Series 1 and later. The edge-to-edge display looks great, and the image shows how much can fit just on the watch face. I'm really glad they showcased the analog watch face. I use an analog watch face, and I find it's always find that Apple supports the digital ones way more. It's nice to see they haven't forgotten the traditional analog watch. It appears to hold up to nine complications. That's a lot of information at a quick glance. I personally want mine with Weather, Timer, iStudiez Pro (class tracking), and MyVerizon (data usage) complications in the corners, Calendar around the rim, and Music, date, Activity (unless I find something better), and battery level in the center. Along with cellular, water-resistance, GPS, improved battery and faster processor coming from my Series 0, I'm hoping we get at least one big new software feature. Overall, I'm really excited for this model, but I still wish it hadn't been leaked.

Apple Watch National Parks Badge

Another event-based Apple Watch award is coming up. To help celebrate our National Parks, Apple is offering a National Parks-themed badge to any Apple Watch owner that completes a 50 minute or longer workout using the built-in Workouts app. The badge will appear in the Activity app on iPhone.

App in the Air on Apple Watch

A lot of Apple Watch apps don't use the Apple Watch's capabilities to its maximum potential. Which is understandable, as Apple Watch isn't always the optimal device in many situations. However, App in the Air does a fantastic job of using Apple Watch for quick, useful information at a glance. The app can be used as a complication on your watch face. It can count down how much time is left on your flight, even when offline. It's fully compatible with Time Travel. About every six hours, it will remind you to stretch. This app recently served as my travel companion on my recent Japan trip and I highly recommend it for anyone going to travel, especially if they have an Apple Watch.

The Aging Original Apple Watch

I was always a watch person. I've worn a watch as long as I can remember. So when Apple announced the Apple Watch, I was intrigued. Not having to change my watch for daylight savings time ever again was a major plus. Having workouts and apps were the main selling point for me though. Apple heavily relied on advertising apps on the Apple Watch for its marketing. Upon receiving my Apple Watch, I noticed that each app had a bit of lag to it. Coupled with the small screen, most apps were not worth my time when I could get a richer experience from my iPhone. watchOS 2 promised snappier app load times, which did next to nothing for the original Apple Watch. Today, apps are practically unusable. Many developers have pulled their watchOS apps. My app screen is flooded with apps I never use. While newer models may handle them better, the original Apple Watch didn't live up anywhere close to what Apple advertised it as. (Now there's a class-action lawsuit I could get behind.) My workouts app freezes for a solid minute or two after launching. It takes just shy of five minutes to fully power on the device. Siri randomly activates and doesn't generate an answer for over thirty seconds. It really does make you wonder how Apple let Apple Watch out when it has the processor of a potato. With the original Apple Watch being swept into unsupported territory, it seems owners like me will be left with no choice but to either upgrade or be stuck with older software. I was genuinely hoping for this watch to last five to six years, something most Apple products can easily attain. While my Apple Watch is certainly still usable, it's unfortunate that it won't support watchOS 5. For the time being, I don't have plans to upgrade, but it is frustrating that Apple left us in the dust on this one.