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Apple Watch - page 93

Beyonce shows off Apple Watch band you can’t have at Coachella

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yonce watch
Photo: Beyonce

The latest celebrity to flaunt an Apple Watch is none other than Queen B herself. Today Beyonce posted photos of herself at Coachella wearing the 18-karat Apple Watch Edition and a custom band you can’t buy.

One of iTunes’ most beloved artists has a solid gold link bracelet for the Watch that Apple doesn’t sell officially. And it probably costs more than the Edition itself.

Order status change indicates Apple Watches on the way

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Pre-order statuses on the Apple Watch changed today from
Statuses for some Apple Watch preorders changed today from "Processing Items" to "Preparing for Shipment." Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

Apple Watches are a step closer to hitting our wrists.

Some who preordered watches earlier this month took to Twitter Monday to excitedly report that their order statuses changed from “Processing Items” to “Preparing for Shipment.”

Depending on how quickly you got online in the early hours of April 10, you could be in the first wave of Apple Watches scheduled to arrive on doorsteps in the United States between Friday and May 8.

Virtual teardown shows what makes Apple Watch tick

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A series of renderings show what the Apple Watch could look like on the inside. Photo: Martin Hajek
A series of renderings show what the Apple Watch could look like on the inside. Photo: Martin Hajek

Like an autopsy performed on a cadaver that’s yet to be born, slick new renderings dissect the Apple Watch and show off its shiny guts.

Since few normal people have an actual Apple Watch in hand, concept artist Martin Hajek created the images using information gleaned from Apple’s website and industrial porn videos about the making of the smartwatch.

Why hands-on with Apple Watch has made us believers, this week on The CultCast

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We're seeing the light.
We're seeing the light.
Photo: Leap of Faith. Paramount Pictures.

We cover all the best Apples stories on each week’s CultCast, but this week we take it to the next level. Hit play to hear: why trying on the Apple Watch will make you a believer; our WWDC hardware predictions; why a recent acquisition might mean a revolutionary new iPhone camera; and Leander reviews the new Macbook.

Our thanks for Freshbooks for supporting this episode. FreshBooks is the easy-to-use invoicing software designed to help small business owners get organized, save time invoicing and get paid faster. It also makes tax time a cinch. Get started now with a 30-day free trial.

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Full show notes ahead!

Is Nike and Apple’s relationship on the rocks?

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Where to next for Nike+ runners? Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac
Where to next for Nike+ runners? Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac
Photo: Graham Bower

Apple’s new Activity and Fitness apps for Apple Watch might signal the end of the company’s long partnership with Nike.

So what does this mean for the millions of us who were introduced to Nike+ by Apple in 2006 and have been logging our runs this way ever since? Are we about to get caught in a Kramer vs. Kramer-style tug of love?

Phil Schiller and Marc Newson show off Apple Watch at design fair in Milan

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Schiller talking to Apple employees in charge of Watch try-on appointments.

 

The Apple Watch is on display at the Salone Del Mobile design exhibition in Milan, Italy today. Attendees can see the Watch at the Carlo e Camilla in Segheria, a classy restaurant that’s been converted into an exclusive display area.

The high profile showcasing has Apple designer Marc Newson and longtime marketing exec Phil Schiller in attendance. Newson helped design the Watch with Jony Ive and was brought onto Apple’s payroll last year. Schiller is in charge of all the marketing behind Apple’s products.

Apple Watch’s hardened aluminum in iPhone 6s could lay Bendgate to rest

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Apple's new aluminum will kill Bendgate.
Apple's new aluminum will kill Bendgate. Photo: Unbox Therapy
Photo: Unbox Therapy

It’s been rumored for months that the iPhone 6S might pick up Apple Watch’s Force Touch feature when it’s updated this Fall, but according to the Chinese media Jony Ive is also planning to use the same aluminum used in the Apple Watch Sport.

If Apple pulls it off, it could solve the Bendgate controversy.

Apple Watches won’t be available to buy in-store until June at earliest

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Mel Togusen, left, and her friend,  Chris Brown, look at different styles of Apple Watches. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac
Sure, you can look, but don't expect to be able to buy an Apple Watch in-store until June. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

If you missed out on placing a preorder for an Apple Watch because you thought you’d be able to wait until April 24 and then buy one from your local Apple Store, prepare to be disappointed.

That’s because — according to a new memo sent to Apple Store employees by retail chief Angela Ahrendts — no Apple Watches at all will be available to buy as walk-in purchases until June at the earliest: five weeks after Apple’s wearable devices begin shipping.

Apple Watch preorders surpass 2 million amidst supply constraints

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A line of Apple customers, who had registered for appointments to try on the Apple Watch, wait for the doors to open at the downtown Chicago store. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac
A line of potential customers wait to try on the Apple Watch. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

While Apple isn’t saying how many Watches it’s sold, estimates so far are that more than 1 million preorders have been placed.

Now the industry’s leading Apple analyst is weighing in with his own findings, including why preorder estimates have already been pushed back to June.

Get guided tours of Siri, Maps and more on the Apple Watch

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Mel Togusen, left, and her friend,  Chris Brown, look at different styles of Apple Watches. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac
Not wanting to stand in a store to try on the Apple Watch? Get a tour online. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

After showing us how to use the Messages app, clock faces, and Digital Touch on the Apple Watch, more guided tours have been posted by Apple online.

In its latest round of video tours, Apple takes a look at how to take phone calls, use Siri, get directions, and play music with the Watch.

Reemo smartwatch lets you wave your lights on

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In this demonstration video, a mother gestures to turn off the lights thanks to the Reemo smartwatch she is wearing. Photo: Reemo/YouTube
In this demonstration video, a mother gestures to turn off the lights thanks to the Reemo smartwatch she is wearing. Photo: Reemo/YouTube

This is the year computer power migrates to our wrists. We have the roll-out hype of the Apple Watch to thank for that. But one company wants that power to be flexed through a flick of the wrist.

Reemo is software and a wrist device you probably haven’t heard of. It doesn’t come in gold or send your heartbeat to a loved one.

It is built around the emerging technology of gesture control — users become maestros in their homes and offices. With a range of gestures and arm movements, users can control the volume on televisions and stereos, trigger door looks, drop the temperature of a room and power lighting up or down.

An estimated 1 million Apple Watches sold in U.S. in first 24 hours

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Apple Watch did some monster pre-orders in its first day on sale. Photo: Leander Kahney
Apple Watch did some monster pre-orders in its first day on sale. Photo: Leander Kahney

If researchers at Slice Intelligence are to be believed, the Apple Watch scored big when it became available for preorders last week.

How big? Try 957,000 people preordering in the U.S. on Friday alone — with the more-affordable Apple Watch Sport model racking up the biggest number of sales.

Check out more of the breakdown figures and interesting sales stats below.

Apple Watch Sport ships with a weird tri-sectioned band

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Don't expect to get two bands with this. Photo: Apple
Don't expect to get two bands with this. Photo: Apple

Recently, Apple sparked a little bit of confusion when they announced that every Apple Watch Sport would contain two separate bands. People interpreted that to mean that it shipped with two complete bands: one for small and medium wrists, and one for large wrists. But the truth is more complicated. Bad news for swappers.

The retail Apple Watch may still have its secret port

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Photo: Cult of Mac
Photo: Cult of Mac

Last month, we reported that the Apple Watch boasted a secret port that could be used in the future to unlock cool accessories… and, maybe, jailbreak the Apple Watch. Later reports, though, indicated that this port was an Apple-only diagnostic port, that could be missing from retail models.

If that’s true, though, no one told Apple’s retail stores. The Apple Watch units available for try-on appointments at Apple Stores around the world still have the diagnostic port.

Gold Apple Watch looks great on my wrist. If only I could turn it on.

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The $10,000 gold Apple Watch Edition, the first and only time I will probably every wear an expensive timepiece.
The $10,000 gold Apple Watch Edition, the first and only time I will probably ever wear an expensive time piece. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

CHICAGO — I grabbed the black suit jacket I was married in because I wasn’t sure how to dress for a private appointment to try on a $10,000 gold watch.

My look is challenging to class up. The clean-shaven head, long goatee and ample belly blend in better at a biker bar. But I felt halfway respectable-looking when I walked into the Apple Store in Chicago’s upscale Lincoln Park neighborhood for a Saturday morning hands-on showing of the Apple Watch Edition.

Not many Apple Stores are scheduling appointments for the 18-karat gold Edition, but the ones that do provide extra-special attention. I had a friendly guide, two floor supervisors who came by to shake my hand and thank me for my patience, and a couple of hawk-eyed security guards.

Apple Watch gets mixed reviews and HBO NOW comes to iOS on The CultCast

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HBO NOW on iOS?  God's be good!
HBO NOW on iOS? God's be good!
Photo: HBO

This week: get’em while they’re hot! The Apple Watch is ready for pre-order, but the reviews are in, and they’re a mixed bag. Plus: what’s good in iOS 8.3 and OS X 10.10.3; Robert Baratheon makes HBO NOW a no-brainer; Samsung is up to their old tricks; the new Macbook didn’t benchmark well, but it might not matter; and things get weird in an all-new Get to Know Your Cultist!

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Full show notes ahead!

Apple Watch Edition is totally untouchable in 38 states

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Apple Watch Edition
Coming soon to a wrist near you? Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

Want to try on the super-fancy $10,000 Apple Watch Edition? You might have to do a bit of driving, because in a whopping 75 percent of the United States, it’s totally impossible to demo the solid gold Apple smartwatch.

Only 12 states (and the District of Columbia) have Apple Stores taking appointments to check out the Apple Watch Edition. That leaves 38 states that are apparently not fancy or fashionable enough to offer demos of the schmanciest Apple Watch of all. To see if you live in one of them, check out Cult of Mac’s handy map below, but be prepared to weep.

How an in-store Apple Watch demo will make you a believer

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Apple Watch won't just be available from Apple Stores come August.
Apple is offering in-store Watch fittings to help customers figure out what watch to buy. We highly recommend it. There's a few surprises. Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

SAN FRANCISCO — Like a lot of people, I took the midnight plunge and bought an Apple Watch before I’d even tried it on.

But today, I got to see the device I bought last night. I went down to the flagship Apple Store in San Francisco and tried on a range of watches.

I wish I’d done this before, because I might have ordered differently.