A judge ruled Apple infringed on AliveCor's ECG-related patents. Photo: Apple
Personal electrocardiogram (ECG) technology maker AliveCor sued Apple last year, claiming the tech giant infringed on patents when developing the heart-health functionality for Apple Watch. AliveCor called for a ban on U.S. imports of the wearable, as well.
Now a judge from the International Trade Commission has supported the claims in an initial ruling.
The Withings ScanWatch Horizon looks like a classic dive watch but it's quite tech-savvy. Photo: Withings
Withings, maker of health devices and smartwatches, launched its new ScanWatch Horizon wearable on Tuesday. It looks like a classic dive watch but packs modern health and activity tracking, 30-day battery life and Apple Health integration.
The Pro Steel model keeps beverages cold for 24 hours and will nag you to drink water many times over that period. Photo: Apple
Are you drinking enough water? Probably not. But if you want to know for sure, Apple’s online and retail stores have started selling two new smart water bottles from HidrateSpark. They automatically track your water intake and sync it to the Apple Health app.
They do it for a price, that is. The two new smart water bottles are $80 and $60. And if drinking enough water on a regular basis adds years to your life, that might actually be worth it.
Apple Watch won't get blood pressure and blood sugar monitoring soon, but other new health updates are coming. Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac
Cupertino is likely to add body temperature readings and other new health features to Apple Watch and the Health app in 2022, but it looks like blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring will have to wait, according to a new report.
For a look at those delays to blood pressure and blood sugar monitoring, as well as the expected new features for women’s health and sleep-, fitness- and medication management, read on.
Look for watchOS 9 to do more in Power Reserve mode. Photo: Apple
Right now, when your Apple Watch enters Power Reserve mode because its battery is almost out of juice, the time appears on the face as a simple digital clock — and that’s it. The wearable’s other features are temporarily disabled. But Cupertino may expand Apple Watch functionality in low-power mode in the upcoming watchOS 9, according to a new report.
In addition, updates could include new workout types, additional workout metrics, expanded sleep tracking and new watch faces.
The new Twelve South ActionBand is a full-on sweatband. Photo: Twelve South
If you sweat a lot when you work out — and if your Apple Watch bands barely stand up to the torrent — rejoice. Twelve South rolled out its new ActionBand Thursday. The company designed the soft, absorbent, wide band to keep up with the hardest workouts and resulting perspiration.
In the future, your AirPods might take your temperature, check your posture and help with hearing. Photo: Charlie Sorrel
Apple appears to be looking into new ways to expand its health-related features. This time it focuses on its popular AirPods, according to a new report. In the future, in addition to filling your head with tunes and podcasts, the earbuds may take your temperature, monitor your posture and help improve your hearing.
The Health app tracks how much you exercise and when. Police sometimes find that useful. Photo: Apple
A mere 18 steps recorded in an iPhone’s Health app helped send an Alabama man to prison for 16 years. He claimed he was sleeping when his webcam model wife was accidentally killed. But his iPhone said differently.
Log push-ups effortlessly with iPhone and Apple Watch Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac
The push-up is one of the world’s most hated exercises. In the movies, Marine Corps drill instructors shout: “Drop down and give me 40” as a punishment.
But the push-up doesn’t deserve its bad reputation. It’s actually a versatile, effective and enjoyable exercise. Better still, you can do it anywhere, anytime, without any special equipment. Which makes it an indispensable part of any quarantine home workout routine.
Here’s how your iPhone and Apple Watch can help you give your push-ups a push in the right direction.
Remember: Always check with your doctor before starting any new exercise activity. Don’t exercise if you feel any discomfort, nausea, dizziness or shortness of breath.
A decline in how someone uses an iPhone or iPad could be an early indication of mild cognitive impairment. Photo: Pexels
Researchers from Apple and Eli Lilly looked into whether the ways people use their iPhone and Apple Watch can warn of mild cognitive impairment, a condition that’s difficult to diagnose.
Google Fit has activity rings similar to an Apple Watch. Photo:
Google’s rival to Apple Health just made the hop across platforms. Google Fit can now be installed on an iPhone, making it easier to participate in challenges with Android users.
Even better, the software can connect with the Health app to pull data from an Apple Watch.
Apple Watch ECG is one of the ways this company is getting into health monitoring. Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac
Apple has made it clear it sees health monitoring as an important part of its business. And now analysts from Morgan Stanley are urging the company combine its efforts with Haven, a partnership of Amazon and others hoping to improve health care while also making it more affordable.
But it’s not clear how Apple would benefit from any such collaboration.
Want a more defined core? Your Apple Watch can help. Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac
For many guys wanting to get in shape, a chiseled six-pack is the ultimate goal. But achieving that iconic washboard look is not easy. Especially as you get older.
Fortunately, your Apple Watch can help you along the way to achieving a tighter core. Apple’s Health app, Activity app and even the Breathe app have a role to play. Here’s how to get a six-pack with a little help from your iPhone and Apple Watch.
Apple has years to get a real 5G iPhone on the market, according to a well-known analyst. Photo: Cult of Mac/@Siddavarapu
The faster cellular data networks being rolled out now will bring tremendous benefits to Apple, according to a well-known industry analyst. Gene Munster even said today, “Apple will be one of 5G’s biggest beneficiaries.”
He listed a number of current and future products that will see gains from this nascent wireless tech.
Apple’s CEO says people know their iPhone can be trusted to securely hold their health records. Photo: Apple
Apple’s CEO is optimistic about his company’s plan to have the iPhone store all our health records, even though it got a black eye recently: turns out some third-party iOS apps leaked health-related data to Facebook.
But Tim Cook says that people trust Apple because the company has a deep commitment to user privacy, and people know that.
A future Apple Watch might be able to alert you that you’re breathing poison. Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
Apple is considering adding a poison gas sensor to its mobile products. This would enable your iPhone or Apple Watch to detect if you’re being exposed to carbon monoxide or another harmful chemicals.
The resigned Beddit 3.5 (left) looks more like an Apple product than the earlier version. Photo: Apple
A new version of the Beddit sleep monitor launched today. This is the first version since Apple acquired the company making this accessory last year, and the result is betterhardware and software, though few new features.
AirFly brings pristine wireless listening to any and every location. Photo: Twelve South
Got a long flight home this holiday season? Wish you could listen to in-flight TV with your AirPods? Want to hear the gym cardio machine’s TV audio with your wireless headphones?
Now you can, thanks to Twelve South’s AirFly — a tiny device that connects wireless headphones to wired audio jacks on planes, in fitness centers and anywhere else wired headphones were previously required. Just pair your wireless headphones with AirFly, plug it into the headphone jack, and you’re ready.
This wondrous little machine makes an excellent travel buddy and stocking stuffer this holiday season. Grab it from our Watch Store now!
Your Apple Watch could warn you to get out of the Sun. Photo: Skitterphoto/Pexels
A future version of the Apple Watch could monitor how much ultraviolet radiation the user is being exposed to, and alert the wearer if they’ve been in the Sun for too long.
According to the World Health Organization, “Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a known cause of skin cancer, skin ageing, eye damage, and may affect the immune system.”
Shift lets you maintain form and spend less time looking at your wrist. Photo: EdgeGear
A pair of avid runners turned engineers have reinvented the watch band into something kind of genius, and we’ve got it in the Cult of Mac Watch Store.
Your Apple Watch provides a torrent of information – so why wear it in the same spot as the watch your great-grandfather wore? Putting key stats and info in your natural line of sight is not only easier to read, it’s easier to use and it’s safer.
Pokémon GO Adventure Sync rewards you for exercising with the Candy needed to Power Up and evolve your pocket monster. Photo: Niantic
Playing Pokémon GO requires you to get off the couch and explore the world. The game now takes that idea and runs with it (pun intended) by rewarding you for exercising even when not hunting virtual monsters.
Apple's Health app was used to recreate a murder suspect's movements. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Data from the Apple Health app is being used as evidence in a trial concerning the rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman in Germany. The individual accused of the crime is Hussein K., an Afghan refugee, who has been on trial since September.
The trial has been complicated by the fact that aspects of Hussein’s life are not clear, including his real age and a period of time — when the crime was committed — during which his whereabouts are unknown.