Mobile menu toggle

Apple Watch - page 47

Ka-ching! Apple Pay Cash could arrive in Europe soon

By

Apple Pay
Sending money from your iPhone is about to get a lot easier in Europe.
Photo: Apple

Apple Pay Cash could be ready to make its debut in Europe.

Screens invited users to set up Apple’s peer-to-peer payments service have started popping up on devices on the other side of the Atlantic this week. Apple has also started publishing Apple Pay Cash support pages in European countries.

GPS workout maps prove far more accurate on Apple Watch Series 4

By

Would you trust fitness advice from Apple Intelligence?
Would you trust fitness advice from Apple Intelligence?
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Apple Watch is pretty awesome at doing a lot of things. But mapping workouts isn’t one of them. At least, not until now. Back in 2016, I was pretty disappointed with the maps I got from my Apple Watch Series 2 (the first model that came with built-in GPS). When I tested it at my local running track, the maps it generated looked like random scribbles.

Fast-forward to today, and things look a whole lot better. Last week, I repeated that test with a shiny new Apple Watch Series 4 and got some very interesting results.

Score a sweet deal in the big Apple Shopping Event [Deals & Steals]

By

iPhone 7
Save a small fortune on prepaid iPhones at Best Buy.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Best Buy is running another big Apple Shopping Event, with impressive discounts on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It’s just one of the awesome offers in today’s Deals & Steals roundup. We also have Apple-certified Lightning cables at a bargain price, and $20 off a great USB-C hub for MacBook.

Plus, you can save $60 on the Astro A20 gaming headset for Mac, and there’s still time to save $55 on the Belkin Valet charging stand for Apple Watch at B&H Photo.

watchOS 5.0.1 kills Apple Watch charging bug

By

apple watch
Anyone running watch OS 5 should update to watchOS 5.0.1, as it fixes a serious potential problem.
Photo: Apple

Apple Watch just got a major operating system upgrade last week and there’s already a “bug fix” update.

Most of the issues watchOS 5.0.1 deals with seem fairly minor, but at least one of them is important enough to rush out this update.

Apple Watch wearers in U.K. could wait years for ECG feature

By

Apple Watch ECG
Not impressed by the ECG? You’ll have more time to return your Watch.
Photo: Apple

Apple Watch Series 4’s incredible ability to offer electrocardiograms (ECG) is one of the biggest reasons to upgrade this year. But you can’t use it yet.

Those in the U.S. will be able to get their hands on the feature before the end of 2018, but for those in other countries, the wait could be a lot longer. If you live in the U.K., you may even have to wait “years,” one report warns.

Apple Watch Series 4 packs smaller batteries than Series 3

By

Man’s brand new Apple Watch turns out to be toilet plunger
Man’s brand new Apple Watch turns out to be toilet plunger
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple Watch Series 4 lasts up to 18 hours on a single charge — just like its predecessors — and it somehow manages that with significantly smaller batteries.

An official Product Information sheet confirms Apple’s latest wearables have around 20 percent less battery capacity than Series 3 devices. It’s a testament to the power efficiency of the new components.

Hands-on with the TimePorter Travel Case for Apple Watch [Unboxing]

By

TimePorter
This gorgeous capsule is both a case and a stand.
Photo: Twelve South

Traveling with Apple Watch is a fairly simple affair: strap on your watch and go. Traveling with all the extra accessories, however, is a serious pain in the butt.

There’s that 6-foot charging cable, for one, which always manages to get tangled up in my bag. Add extra Apple Watch bands and a wall plug, and you’ve got some serious carry, and we haven’t even mentioned dealing with the watch when you aren’t wearing it.

Twelve South has an answer to this conundrum, and it’s called TimePorter. And, Cult of Mac’s Nadine Kahney unboxes this great little case before our very eyes. 

How to use the Walkie-Talkie app on Apple Watch

By

What a lovely set of talkies walkie.
What a lovely set of talkies walkie.
Photo: Joe Haupt/Flickr CC

One of watchOS 5’s greatest features is the Walkie-Talkie app. If you know other Apple Watch owners, you can just talk into your wrist, like in a 1950s secret agent TV show, and chat to them. It’s way better than having to make a phone call, because the chat is pushed.

Imagine that you’re on vacation camping, or on a bike trip across country, or working in a large (but fairly quiet) job site. You can talk to people as if they are there next to you. And in one way, this is better than a real walkie-talkie: Because it doesn’t use radio, there’s no limit to distance. You can chat to people on the other end of town, or the other side of the world.

Let’s see how to use the Apple Watch Walkie-Talkie app.

Apple Watch fall detection disabled by default … unless you’re old

By

apple watch series 4
If you’re under 65, fall detection isn’t enabled.
Photo: Apple

Don’t just assume your new Apple Watch Series 4 will be there to help you when you drunkenly fall into a neighbor’s flowerbed on your way home from the bar. If you’re under 65, fall detection is disabled by default.

Here’s how to enable it to ensure your emergency contact knows when you’re in trouble.

Best chargers, stands and cases for Apple Watch Series 4

By

zens
The Apple Watch Power Bank by Zens is a handy little battery pack for your timepiece.
Photo: Zens

If you’ve managed to order Apple Watch Series 4 last night, you’re going to need something to fire up your stunning new band.

From pocket-sized, portable chargers to sleek, modernist stands and cases, we’ve got your Series 4 charging needs covered. Some even double as iPhone chargers, or can charge several Apple devices simultaneously.

Check out Cult of Mac’s reviewed and recommended lineup of the best charging stands for Apple Watch Series 4.

‘Better You’ Apple Watch Series 4 ad is here to motivate you

By

83E86FEC-4597-4997-9950-4CDDD6494B5B
Get back in shape with Apple Watch.
Photo: Apple

Creating a better, more active version of yourself just got a whole lot easier today with the release of Apple Watch Series 4.

To celebrate its new wearable, Apple put out a fun 30-second ad on its Canadian YouTube channel. Titled “Better You,” the ad features a frumpy looking guy and alternative versions of himself utilizing the Apple Watch to get into better shape.

Get motivated by watching the ad:

How to get the best price for your old Apple Watch

By

watchOS 5
Don’t let your old Apple Watch sit around collecting dust.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Your shiny new Apple Watch Series 4 is finally on your wrist. What are you going to do with your old one?

It might seem like a relic now, but it’s probably still worth a small fortune — if you sell it properly. Here’s how to get the best price for your old Apple Watch.

iPhone XS user guide suggests AirPower isn’t quite dead yet

By

AirPower
Is AirPod finally ready to make its big debut?
Photo: Apple

With no mention of it during the iPhone XS keynote, and little sign of it on Apple’s website, it was beginning to look like AirPower had been wiped entirely from Apple’s plans. But it seems the wireless charger isn’t quite dead yet.

AirPower is mentioned in the iPhone XS user guide, early adopters have noticed today. A reference in the latest iOS 12.1 beta also provides hope for the device.

Some iPhone XS and Apple Watch Series 4 preorders delayed by UPS

By

iPhone XS Kyoto
Is your preorder still arriving today?
Photo: Apple

Some iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and Apple Watch Series 4 buyers are disappointed after finding out that their shiny new devices won’t be arriving today as expected.

A number of customers are reporting that their delivery dates have slipped to Monday, September 24 — but that may not be the case, after all.

Hot new Apple Watch feature gives wearers a serious dose of FOMO

By

walkie-talkie
Walkie-Talkie is the best new watchOS 5 feature.
Photo: Apple

The new Walkie-Talkie app is being lauded by Apple Watch owners as the best new feature that came out as part of watchOS 5. But for some wearers, there’s a serious problem: they can’t find anyone to talk to.

Walkie-Talkie gives Apple Watch owners the ability to turn their wrist into a sort of digital two-way radio transceiver to talk with friends and family. It’s a super-convenient way to have short bursts of conversation when you don’t want to talk on the phone. If you don’t have any friends with a compatible Apple Watch, though, there’s no way to get in on the action.

Twitter has been full of people feeling the pains of Walkie-Talkie FOMO the last few days:

How to turn Apple Watch into a walkie-talkie

By

watchOS 5
watchOS 5 turns Apple Watch into a walkie-talkie
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

You don’t need to buy the new Apple Watch Series 4 to get one of this year’s coolest new features on it.

As part of the watchOS 5 update released earlier this week, Apple introduced a new Walkie-Talkie app that lets you chat back-and-forth with other Apple Watch owners. The Walkie-Walkie app works no matter the distance between you and your friend. And it’s so easy to use, it might become your favorite new way to communicate.

Apple’s new video shows exactly how to use it.

Apple Watch Series 4 reviews: The watch of the future is here today

By

Apple
Apple Watch Series 4 is significantly better than the earliest versions of this wearable.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s next-generation wearable launches Friday, so the first batch of Apple Watch Series 4 reviews appeared today. The experts with early access sound quite positive about this device.

They like the new display and the faster performance. The new ECG heart monitor function can’t yet be tested, however.

iOS 12 accidentally removes select Apple Watch Activity badges

By

Activity badges for Apple Watch challenges
iOS 12's collection of "limited edition" Activity challenge badges is missing a few awards.
Screenshot: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

With the release of iOS 12 earlier this week, Apple made broad sweeping improvements to the OS. Unfortunately, the update also came with a small bug for fitness zealots sporting a cabinet full of limited edition Activity challenge badges. If that just described your Apple Watch badge collection, you can cool your cycling shorts, everything will be ok.

The first iOS 12.1 beta is already here

By

iOS 12
iOS 12 just got a new beta.
Photo: Apple

Apple is not wasting any time making improvements to the huge iOS 12 update that was just released to the public yesterday.

Developers received the first beta for iOS 12.1 this morning along with new betas for watchOS 5 and tvOS 12, bring a host of changes to the software update that already made iOS devices faster and more efficient.

No really … iPhone XS is a total steal, says Tim Cook

By

Tim Cook on Good Morning America
iPhone XS Max is just “a dollar a day.”
Photo: ABC

Apple’s latest iPhone lineup is its most expensive yet, with prices starting at $999 for the iPhone XS and $1,099 for the iPhone XS Max. But Apple CEO Tim Cook doesn’t see a problem with that.

In an interview with Good Morning America this week, Cook again defended Apple’s price tags, talked about Apple Watch Series 4, and explained why some devices have avoided price hikes amidst America’s trade war with China.

Hands on with the hot new Apple Watch faces in watchOS 5

By

watchOS 5 Face
watchOS 5's animated faces bring new life to the Apple Watch
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If you watched last week’s Apple Watch Series 4 unveiling and are dying for those new animated watch faces — but don’t want to buy a new watch — you’ll be happy to know that watchOS 5 brings the best of them to Apple Watch Series 1 and up.

They’re not quite as nice as what you’ll get with the new larger Series 4 watches coming Friday, but they’re still pretty great. Here’s a hands-on look at the new Apple Watch faces.

watchOS 5 and tvOS 12 can now be installed by everyone

By

watchOS 5
watchOS 5 turns Apple Watch into a walkie-talkie
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple TV and Apple Watch owners received some new software goodies this morning in the form of tvOS 12 and watchOS 5, coinciding with the public launch of iOS 12.

While tvOS 12 only contains a couple of changes with new screensavers and Dolby Atmos support, watchOS 5 packs some big updates that make wearing an Apple Watch even more useful by turning it into a walkie-talkie, letting you compete with friends and more.

Check out some of the new features:

Best bands to pimp out Apple Watch Series 4

By

double tour
OleksynPrannyk's Double Tour in Black.
Photo: OleksynPrannyk

Apple Watch Series 4 orders open midnight September 13 (tonight!) with shipping beginning on September 21.

In the meantime, grab yourself a strap or two befitting Apple’s fourth-generation smartwatch. The 40mm band works with the 38mm straps; the 44mm band works with the 42mm straps. You’re going to love the Series 4 and Cult of Mac’s lineup of best bands to outfit it. 

Apple loses marketshare but still makes the most money

By

Apple profits
Apple can afford to lose some marketshare because of how profitable it is.
Illustration: Cult of Mac

Apple is the headline in two new studies. One seems alarming as it shows Apple’s share in the smartwatch market has declined by 14 percent.

But the second study shows Apple as the biggest money maker in the smartphone market by a long shot. Thanks to iPhone X, Apple held 62 percent of the market share in Q2. Its closest rival, Samsung, has suffered double-digit sales losses and is a distant second at 17 percent.

Trump tariffs are about to hit Apple fans where it hurts

By

tariffs
President Trump and Apple CEO Tim Cook don't see eye-to-eye on any of the Trump tarrifs.
Photos: White House/Apple

President Trump reportedly ordered tariffs on $200 billion more Chinese goods yesterday. After these were first proposed several weeks ago, Apple warned that they’ll likely increase the cost of many of its products.

The list of affected devices includes some of Apple’s most popular offerings.