Apple’s next big product event — the release of the iPhone 14 series — will take place on September 7, according to a new report.
The event kicks off a busy release period before the end of the year, with new Macs, iPads and Apple Watches expected.
In a recent report, Apple outlined the “rigorous scientific validation processes” used to develop the health and fitness features baked into its products.
Wearables like Apple Watch monitor our bodies around the clock, providing health insights in real time. That’s a new and unprecedented development in medical technology. The benefits are already clear, as the report illustrates, with anecdotes about how Apple Watch has saved lives.
But anecdotal evidence is not the same as scientific research. By cherry-picking the best outcomes, anecdotes risk overlooking the bigger picture. Scientists must look at all the outcomes, not just the good ones. With that in mind, I took a closer look at the scientific studies cited in Apple’s report, to find out what they tell us about the impact Apple Watch is having on our health.
You don’t have to wait until September to get the details on the next-gen Apple Watch. Many of them leaked out already.
Here’s what to expect out of the upcoming Series 8, and a new “extreme sports” Apple Watch. An updated Apple Watch SE is also supposedly in the offing.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: We’re taking a long look (and listen) at all the hottest new features coming in iOS 16, including the return of the battery percentage indicator. Some of the impending changes look (and sound) great. Others … not so much.
We want two big tweaks: a polished version of the battery percentage indicator, and an iPhone ping that doesn’t sound like garbage. (The existing one is great, and the proposed one is definitely not an upgrade.)
But, hey, there’s still time for Tim Cook’s team of tweakers to bring things up to snuff. In fact, somebody already did the heavy lifting for them on that battery icon (see below)!
Bored of your basic Apple Watch band? Dress it up with a stunning stainless steel stretch-link bracelet from Rilee & Lo. They look just as spectacular as other high-end bracelets but are much more convenient to get on and off — and they’re a lot more affordable than they look.
Apple reportedly does not plan to hold an in-person iPhone 14 event this September. Instead, the company will once again announce the upcoming iPhones via a virtual event.
Amazon has an irresistible deal on the Apple Watch Series 7 that you should not miss. The 41mm Apple Watch Series 7 is down to $279.99 from $399—down to its lowest-ever price.
This is the same price the smartwatch was available for during Prime Day in July.
Everyone knows leather Apple Watch bands are a timeless class-act, long-popular for a variety of reasons. But which kind of leather matters, too. One type might be quite durable but stiff, needing breaking in. Another type might be incredibly soft and supple from the get-go.
One option for the latter type would be ostrich leather. And while it’s always a premium choice, the Cult of Mac Store has a beautiful band for a surprisingly affordable price.
The upcoming “Pro” Apple Watch will reportedly feature a new design. It will be the first major design overhaul of the wearable since the Apple Watch Series 4 debut in 2018.
Its screen size should also be about 7% larger than the current models.
Worried that the U.S. government is trying to make sure emergency alerts it sends to smartphones are working — and you don’t even know about it?
Well, now you can make sure you receive those test alerts thanks to a new toggle Apple added to iOS 15.6 and the third iOS 16 beta.
Some people buy vertically striped shirts in order to look slimmer. But on an Apple Watch band, stripes generally just make it look different from every other strap out there.
Casetify calls its Saffiano leather Apple Watch bands with such decoration “Chic Stripes,” and it looks like a pretty accurate description. Buy one of these affordable bands and you might look a little more chic.
So check out the pair of elegant choices in the Cult of Mac Store’s Casetify Chic Stripes collection.
Apple laid out its far-reaching goals for the health and wellness tech built into iPhone and Apple Watch in a report issued Wednesday. It details how Apple intends to develop technology to support personal health, medical research, and patient care.
“We believe passionately that technology can play a role in improving health outcomes,” said Apple’s chief operating officer, Jeff Williams, in a statement.
In recent years Apple Watch has shown itself to be a lifesaver, either by calling for help when a person’s incapacitated or by offering health readings that lead a person to see a doctor.
In the latter category it just happened again. A woman in Maine didn’t believe what the wearable was telling her at first. But going to the ER led to open-heart surgery that saved her from a probable fatal stroke.
Ahead of Prime Day, Amazon has discounted the Apple Watch Series 7 to just $284 — a massive $115 off its retail price. This is the lowest price we have tracked the wearable go down to.
The discount is available on the watch’s 41mm and 45mm variants.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: This could be the year Apple Watch goes large … and rugged … and maybe long. Like, long enough to track the kind of intense, multi-hour workouts that “extreme sports athletes” engage in.
So the question is, what will this beefier (and pricier) Apple Watch look like? We can’t help letting our imaginations run a little wild.
Also on The CultCast:
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The rugged Apple Watch designed for hardcore athletes will come with the smartwatch’s biggest screen yet, according to a new report.
Slated to launch this fall alongside Apple Watch Series 8, the sports-oriented smartwatch will come with a beefier battery to make it through longer workouts. A more shatter-resistant screen and a brawny metal case will round out the package — along with a hefty price bump.
The upcoming Apple Watch Series 8 could feature a body temperature sensor that will allow the wearable to detect when you are running a fever.
Both the regular Apple Watch Series 8 and the rumored rugged variant aimed at hardcore athletes should feature the new sensor.
Evoking nostalgia for 1960s and 1970s motorsports with their distinctive perforations, leather rally watch bands pair beautifully with rugged chronograph watches and smartwatches alike.
BluShark’s trio of leather rally Apple Watch bands, for example, make quite the racy statement.
Your car may not be all that fast, but if you want to feel like Steve McQueen getting behind the wheel, check out BluShark’s leather rally Apple Watch band collection in the Cult of Mac Store.
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.
After strong currents swept an Australian kayaker more than two miles out to sea, he summoned help with the Emergency SOS feature of Apple Watch. That triggered his rescue by helicopter.
The Apple Watch Series 8 expected this fall won’t have better performance than its recent predecessors, according to a reliable tipster.
It will get other enhancements, though.
Rumors of an Apple Watch Explorer Edition started last year, when Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple was working on ruggedized smartwatch designed specifically for athletes. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, from TF International Securities, added fuel to the fire last December, claiming that an “extreme sports version” could debut in 2022.
This month at WWDC, Apple’s focus on new fitness features for watchOS 9 lent further credence to these rumors. As a fitness-fanatic myself, all this hype has got me pretty excited. It inspired me to create these Photoshop mockups, exclusively for Cult of Mac, to explore exactly what the Explorer Edition might look like.
Thanks to a new app called WatchTube, you can now play YouTube videos directly on your Apple Watch. A 2-inch OLED screen may not be your idea of a night at the cinema, but it’s not impossible to imagine the app being useful.
The more gadgets we buy, the more separate chargers we end up with. If you’re sick of plugging in your stuff all over the place, try a multi-device charger like the SwitchEasy MagPower 4-in-1 Charging Stand.
The compact stand’s ingenious design lets you easily charge four devices at once. You can power up your iPhone or other smartphone, Apple Watch, AirPods and another device all at the same time. Three out of those four gadgets power up wirelessly, too, so you can cut some cords.
And through tonight, you can get 20% off the stand in the Cult of Mac Store. That’s a savings of $17 off the regular price.
Apple Watch Series 3 is still in Apple’s product lineup but you should avoid it. It’s so near the end of its product life that it’s not a good value even at $199.
There’s another Apple wearable that costs just a bit more and isn’t about to ride off into the sunset.