Apple Watch - page 32

Strava is a brilliant app for sharing your workouts and analyzing your fitness activity. But its Apple Watch app is not so great. That’s why I prefer to use Apple’s built-in Workout app and then view my data afterward on the Strava website.

The trouble is, up until now, the only way to do that was by relying on third-party apps such as HealthFit, which provide the missing link that syncs Apple’s workouts with Strava.

Strava has been promising to come up with a solution for years. And this week, the company finally delivered. It’s a huge step in the right direction, but I won’t be deleting HealthFit just yet. Here’s why.

Apple could be planning to introduce more affordable AirPods Pro buds. A new report claims Cupertino is in talks with suppliers in Taiwan over “AirPods Pro Lite,” which are expected to debut later this year.

It is believed Apple is also planning to shift production of other devices — including iPad, Apple Watch, and iMac — to Taiwan as the coronavirus epidemic continues to cause problems in China.

You know when you reply to a message on your Apple Watch, and it’s such a pain to write it out a letter at a time or to dictate your reply (only to have Siri mishear you)? The alternative is to use one of Apple Watch’s canned responses. Unfortunately, they all sound like your account got hacked, or that you don’t care about the sender enough to come up with a proper reply.

However, you can customize those replies to make them much more useful. And with one clever trick, you can make Apple Watch smart replies sound just like you really wrote them.

A new feature in the Activity app offers deep insights into progress you’re making on your personal fitness goals. Find out how to check your Activity Trends and decipher all that delicious workout data your Apple Watch is squirreling away.

You’ll find that how-to, along with new tips for Mac power users, in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. It also packs the week’s top Apple news, as well as a review of a new streaming service that basically turns your Mac into a powerful gaming PC. Download it now for a satisfying iPad read, or get the links to the week’s top stories below.

Before iOS 13, if you wanted to sync Apple Watch workout data with Strava, you had an excellent option: a brilliant third-party fitness app called HealthFit. Unfortunately, Apple’s strict new rules in iOS 13 broke the app’s syncing functionality, leaving Apple Watch-wearing members of the fitness social network in the cold.

Luckily, today’s HealthFit update brings the welcome return of this Strava-syncing capability. Cult of Mac has been testing a beta version of HealthFit 5.2.6 and can confirm that it works really well again. Strava sync is back and better than ever. Here’s what the new-and-improved fitness app can do for you.

Brady Ogle knew something was wrong with his body. It took the Apple Watch to confirm it.

24 hours after New Year’s Day, Ogle reported for work like any other workday at an AT&T store in Granbury, Texas, just south of Dallas. For the preceding three months, the 30-year-old hadn’t been feeling well. He visited his doctor but was told he might be suffering from a mild case of indigestion and to simply manage it from home with a proper diet.

Still, his symptoms kept preying on his mind. Something was wrong. He could feel it.

Apple reportedly added code to iPhone and Apple Watch to let these devices function as car keys, giving users one less thing to constantly carry around.

The company began work on such a feature years ago, and supposedly how has finally reached the point where it’s building the feature into iOS and watchOS.

A dramatic increase in Apple Watch sales in 2019 brought shipments up 36% year over year, according to a market research firm. The total of number of Apple wearables shipped last year was 45% higher than the entire Switch watch industry.

Apple Watch has always tracked your daily physical activity with its three iconic Activity rings. That’s great if you just want to focus on hitting your daily goals. But what if you want to see your progress over time?

iOS 13 solves this with Activity Trends, an all-new tab you’ll find in the Activity app on your iPhone. It provides an indispensable snapshot of how you’ve been doing. Trouble is, it takes 90 days to collect all your trend data. Which means if you checked when you first upgraded to iOS 13, there probably wasn’t much to see.

The good news is that it’s now well over 90 days since Apple released iOS 13. So your Apple Watch Activity Trends should finally be visible. Here’s how to make sense of them.

Apple is trying to entice people with an old Apple Watch to upgrade to a newer model with some new trade-in deals.

As part of its promotion for Heart Month, Apple increased the trade-in value for the Apple Watch Series 2 and will give you $100 off the purchase of an Apple Watch Series 5. Other models also received a trade-in value bump, but Apple Watch Series 4 owners might want to hold onto their units for a while longer.

These are the deals you can expect:

Get fruity with one of Mezando’s magnificent Apple Watch bands. Made from pineapple leaves, they’re super-sustainable and available in a range of styles and color options.

They offer all the charm and durability of a leather strap, but without the obvious drawbacks.

Treat yourself to some awesome new Apple Watch and iPhone accessories with up to 77% off Just Mobile products in the Cult of Mac Store.

You’ll find iPhone cases and screen protectors, Apple Watch charging stands, and portable battery packs all reduced to some of their lowest prices to date. Prices start at just $7.95!

But be quick — this sale must end tomorrow, January 31.

The first Apple earnings report of 2020 was a smashing success that shattered most of Apple’s previous records. Thanks to shockingly strong iPhone sales and a surging wearables business that is bigger than the Mac and the iPad, Apple managed to surpass even the most optimistic expectations.

Apple CEO Tim Cook held a call with investors after the numbers came out to dive deeper into the impressive quarterly results. Cook dished on everything from the success of Apple TV+ and problems with AirPods Pro supplies to the Wuhan coronavirus affecting China. If you didn’t get a chance to join the call, don’t worry, Cult of Mac has you covered with all the need-to-know info.

Apple just dumped a truckload of new software updates on customers this morning, including the crucial iOS 13.3.1 update that brings an important fix to Screen Time.

Along with iOS 13.3.1, Apple also released macOS 10.15.3, tvOS 13.3.1, and watchOS 6.1.2. All four of the new updates are fairly minor and mostly focus on under-the-hood improvements.

Did you know you can force the Apple Watch to display the wrong time? You can. In fact, you can make it add up to 59 minutes to the actual time, and show that bogus data on the main display.

It’s either the most useless setting on the Apple Watch or the most useful, depending on your point of view. Here’s how to make your Apple Watch tell the wrong time.

Curve, the all-in-one card service, is finally rolling out Apple Pay support to customers across Europe.

Payments can be made using Apple Watch and iPhone for the first time. And the same great benefits you’re used to getting from your Curve card, including cash back on purchases, still apply.

This week we type on our Apple Watches, scrapbook everything into Notebooks, flex our brains with MoneyBall and more.

Wearing your Apple Watch to the gym can now earn you some perks and in some cases, a discounted monthly membership.

Apple revealed its new Apple Watch Connected gym partnership today that is supposed to incentivize Apple Watch wearers to hit the gym more. Initial launch partners include Basecamp Fitness, Orange Theory, YMCA and Crunch Fitness with more gyms expected to be added throughout 2020.

A Kentucky woman says her Apple Watch detected atrial fibrillation, aka irregular heart rhythms, while she slept.

Rosemary Stiles told local newscaster WHAS11 that she had been feeling unusually tired and rundown. But she had no idea that this could potentially be a sign of something more serious.

Some U.S. senators apparently just can’t be without their Apple gear, even when they aren’t supposed to have it. Lawmakers have been noticed wearing Apple Watches during the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, a violation of the agreed-upon rules.

Police have arrested three people in Hong Kong after discovering a massive shipment of undeclared iPhones, Apple Watches, iPads, and assorted luxury items. The suspected smugglers were attempting to sneak the products into China to avoid paying tax on imports.

The South China Morning Post describes it as one of the “biggest hauls of electronic goods” in Hong Kong history. The total value of the tech products was $1 million. Other smuggled goods, including tech components and edible bird’s nests, were worth an extra $2.2 million.

The Cult of Mac Store’s big January sale is still under way, with sweet discounts on some of the best Apple Watch accessories. Choose anything from our entire lineup of stunning Strapa bands today and save 15% before this discount disappears on January 17.

And enjoy free standard shipping on orders over $100!

The point of an Apple Watch is to keep things simple and compact. So it doesn’t make sense to carry a bunch of charging gear around, too. That makes this keychain-ready wireless charger the ideal companion for your Apple Watch.

Apple Watch’s incredible pulse-monitoring powers are at the center of Apple’s newest legal battle.

Masimo Corp., a healthcare company that manufactures pulse monitor technology, filed a lawsuit against Apple alleging that the iPhone-maker stole trade secrets.

There are several ways to check the remaining battery life on your AirPods and AirPods Pro. You can flip open the AirPods’ case, and wave it near your iPhone or iPad to see a pop up battery screen. Or, if the AirPods are currently connected to your iPhone, you can swipe to the batter widget in the Today widget screen. But did you also know that you can check your AirPods’ battery from your Apple Watch?