Native Apple Watch apps are coming. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple Watch is one the most incredible watch I’ve ever owned, but there’s just one problem — the apps are all soooo slow.
That could change pretty soon, according to Apple VP of Operations Jeff Williams, who says Apple will give developers a preview of native Apple Watch apps at next month’s Worldwide Developers Conference.
Snapchat isn't coming to Apple Watch. Photo: Snapchat
Developers have been eager to capitalize on the Apple Watch hype, with thousands of apps already available, but according to Snapchat’s CEO, it’s going to be a long time until you’re able to check your snaps on Jony Ive’s timepiece.
Above: The oblivious new owner of two new Apple Watch Editions. Photo: Wang Sicong
The son of China’s richest man has bought not one, but two gold Apple Watch Editions. For his dog.
Wang Sicong’s father, real-estate magnate Wang Jianlin, is worth about $34 billion dollars, and the 27-year-old son officially has too much disposable income.
What would it take for Apple Watch to lap competing fitness trackers? Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
I’ve started cheating on my Apple Watch. It’s not that I don’t love it. It’s amazingly beautiful. It does stuff I didn’t even know I’d like. But when it comes to running wild in the outdoors, I’ve found a smartwatch that satisfies me more than Jony Ive’s wearable does.
For the past week I’ve been testing the Garmin Fenix 3, a top-of-the-line smartwatch from a company that’s made a name for itself by providing runners and outdoorsmen with some of the best wrist-worn fitness tech. I hate wearing the Fenix 3. While Apple Watch gently caresses my wrist, the Fenix 3 feels like I’ve strapped a tank to it. Yet it boasts features Apple Watch doesn’t have that I’m starting to think I can’t live without on runs and hikes.
I don’t plan to completely break up with the Apple Watch anytime soon, but I’m ditching it during my four-day trek through the Grand Canyon this weekend because there are still a couple things it needs to learn before it can truly be the best all-around fitness tracker.
Fitness gadgets saved my life. Sort of. Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac
I used to live the classic geek lifestyle, forever hunched over a MacBook, munching on comfort food. Until one day cancer forced me to take my health more seriously.
Now I run marathons and lift weights for fun. But the geek is still strong in me. From GPS watches to bioelectrical impedance analyzers, I’ve used pretty much every kind of fitness gadget.
Here’s the story of how fitness gear helped me get in shape for the first time in my life and swap my middle-aged dad bod for a six pack.
This Apple Watch hater might have some rage stuck in his throat. Photo: LiveLeak
When you’re ranting about Apple and its products, don’t forget to breathe.
One incredibly angry man learned that crucial lesson the hard way: His profanity-laden diatribe about the Apple Watch ended when he broke into a coughing fit. You can see the whole NSFW rant and its shocking twist ending below.
Apple Watch orders are currently coming in at a rate of around 30,000 units per day — according to analytics provided by Slice Intelligence, which combed through the e-receipts of around 14,000 online shoppers who used Slice’s services.
Although there was, unsurprisingly, a big drop-off from launch day, numbers appear to have been pretty consistent since then. So far, Apple has sold upwards of 2.5 million Apple Watches — more than the iPod, iPhone, or iPad sold during the same period of time in their first year.
If you look closely you can actually pinpoint the exact moment the Apple Watch heart rate monitor stops working. Photo: The Simpsons, 20th Century Fox
Apple issued its first Apple Watch software update this week, adding new emojis, fixes for Siri and more. Unfortunately, hidden among the positives is one fairly big negative: Multiple users are complaining that the 1.0.1 update stops the device’s much-touted heart rate monitor from running as it should.
Apple Watch sport with black fluoroelastomer band. Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac
The Apple Watch won’t be available in stores for at least a few more weeks, but if you want to get a head start on your collection of band color options, hurry to your local Apple Store now. They’ve finally got Apple Watch bands!
I ordered an extra Sport band weeks ago after deciding the white I got wasn’t for me. I’m still waiting for it, and figured I’d probably be waiting for weeks. So as soon as I heard that some stores have bands in stock, I jumped in my car and sped to my Apple Store faster than Mad Max Rockatansky fleeing from Immortan Joe and the War Boys.
Unfortunately, bands are in pretty limited supply and only a few colors are available, but I lucked out and they had just what I needed. Here’s what it’s like to buy an Apple Watch band at the Apple Store:
The only charging Apple Stores want to worry about is charging your credit card.
If you wonder how the Apple Watches on display in retail stores differ from those you can buy, some new photos that surfaced online answer the question.
Investors and consumers alike are skipping Pebble Photo: Pebble
Apple Watch hasn’t even been out for a month yet but it may have already claimed its first victim in the war for your wrist.
Smartwatch maker Pebble is in big trouble and has applied for a $5 million loan from a Silicon Valley bank to stay afloat, according to a new report that claims the company is having a hard time maintaining growth.
Is Apple Watch mostly for men? Photo: Beyonce/Twitter
The only Apple Watches I’ve seen in the wild so far have been strapped to men’s wrists, and according to one of the world’s top Apple analysts, that could be a bad indicator for the digital timepieces’ popularity.
In a new note to investors, KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has cut his 2015 expectations for Apple Watch sales from 30 million down to just 15 million after research found that Apple Watch has attracted mostly men.
From the sound of things, Nest CEO Tony Fadell learned quite a bit from working with Steve Jobs. Photo: Nest
Before creating the home automation company Nest, Tony Fadell cut his teeth at Apple by creating revolutionary products like the iPod. You’d think being one of the key guys behind Apple’s resurgence in the early aughts means you get hooked up with Apple products for life, but according to Fadell, he had to pre-order the Apple Watch like the rest of us peasants. And he’s still waiting for it to arrive.
It's time for an Apple Watch software update Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple Watch has barely been available to the public for a month now but Apple is already sending out its first software update this morning that includes new emojis as well as fixes for Siri, measuring stand activity, and third party apps.
For when you really, really need to know what time it is. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
The Apple Watch has a bunch of faces to show you the current time, but here’s a simple tip if you want to combine the classic look of an analog face with the speed-to-read convenience of digital.
What exactly are fitness trackers tracking? Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Many people say they want to get fit, but what does this actually mean? Fit for what?
The websites of leading fitness trackers, like Apple Watch, Fitbit, Microsoft Band and Jawbone Up don’t shed much light on this question. They talk a lot about the things that their devices measure, and even suggest changes in how we go about our day, but they rarely explain why this matters or what the actual benefits are.
Drake and Kanye West have both shown their love for Apple Watch with their custom gold Edition models. Now rapper Wiz Khalifa is getting in the Apple Watch game by rocking one throughout his entire new music video.
Wiz Khalifa’s latest surprise video, “The Play,” features three of Wiz’s greatest loves: his son Bash, weed, and Apple Watch. The video focuses on father-son moments between the rapper and Bash, but his stainless steel Apple Watch Sport with a white sport bands steals the show between blasts of lyrics talking about real guys making it off the streets without help.
Getting Apple Watch ordered or fixed can be a nightmare. Photo: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple’s hot new wrist gadget is pretty fantastic and shiny, but when you trash it, how can you get it fixed? We’ve got the skinny on how to do just that, based on our own run-in with a shattered Apple Watch Sport. Plus? Rob and Evan take on more tips and tricks for the Apple Watch than you can stand, Luke’s got a look at how the next iPhone 6s could be the biggest “incremental” upgrade ever, and Leander has a rant-tastic video on his time with his own Apple Watch.
Get all of this, and lots more, in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine, free to download and subscribe.
Good luck trying to get a broken Apple Watch repaired. Replacements are as scarce as brand new ones. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
What happens when you try to get a broken Apple Watch repaired? Not much of anything!
I know this because my Apple Watch broke last week and I have a repair order pending.
Luckily, the watch is covered by Apple’s AppleCare+ extended warranty, which covers accidental damage. It also offers two-day express replacement. No downtime without your new precious.
This would be great, but Apple doesn’t have any watches to replace it with. Apple’s watches are in such short supply, it might be Christmas before a replacement is available.
Quanta says Apple Watch supply is finally reaching demand. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Quanta’s vice chairman has seemingly denied rumors that the Apple Watch has low yield rates, and that Apple was so upset about it that it’s considered outsourcing orders to other manufacturers.
In fact, according to him, Apple Watch production is no longer a problem “in both technology and quality,” despite a few hiccups early on in the production process.
There's a definite downside to Apple Watch obsession. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
No gadget ever caused me to lose as much sleep as the Apple Watch.
I wish I could forget about Apple’s shiny new smartwatch, but the damned thing has me under its spell. It’s the curse of Cupertino, and I’m just another hapless a victim.
In the first Kahney's Korner, our fearless leader rants and raves about the Apple Watch. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
So here we go. A new video series featuring, of all people, our Editor and Publisher Leander Kahney.
You’ve heard him on the CultCast. You’ve read his books.
You’ve been educated, entertained and occasionally enraged at his stories here on Cult of Mac. And now he is going to come into your lives in talking pictures with his new video series, Kahney’s Korner. The format is pretty loose, but he is never at a loss for words, so this should be pretty fun.
Here is the new face of tech journalism. Photo: Newt Gingrich (via YouTube)
Former House Speaker and architect of the “Contract with America” Newt Gingrich has joined Mashable as a tech blogger.
You did not misread that.
The new reviewer took to Twitter this evening to ask for some suggestions for his upcoming coverage of the Apple Watch, and he probably should have suspected he’d get some weird responses.
Sometimes, it's okay to leave the phone at home. Photo: Apple
Your Apple Watch doesn’t need an iPhone to make it whole.
The new wearable is capable of performing a variety of tasks without a tether to your phone. All it needs is a connection to a familiar Wi-Fi network, and you can start putting it to use even if its iPhone buddy isn’t around.