Graham Bower, author at Cult of Mac

Widget fans and cyclists and will love watchOS 10

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watchOS 10 will work with Apple Watch Series 4 and newer.
watchOS 10 will work with Apple Watch Series 4 and newer.
Photo: Apple
WWDC23

watchOS 10 will introduce widgets and bring a new look for many built-in Apple Watch apps. But the biggest changes come to the Workout app, which adds features that serious cyclists have been demanding for years, including support for third-party Bluetooth power and cadence meters.

9 things you probably didn’t know about Apple Watch Ultra

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The Ultra's siren sounds like nothing else.
The Ultra's siren sounds like nothing else.

The big and rugged Apple Watch Ultra is a very different beast than the “normal” Apple smartwatches that came before it. With so many new features, there’s still a lot we don’t know about it.

But over the past couple of weeks, I have discovered nine fascinating factoids that most reviewers haven’t picked up on yet. So to celebrate Ultra’s launch day, I’m sharing them with you now.

Apple Watch Ultra is a big, bulky, beautiful beast

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The age of Ultra. Apple Watch Ultra.
The age of Ultra. Apple Watch Ultra.
Photo: Apple

Apple took the wraps off Apple Watch Ultra — describing the sports-oriented smartwatch as the most rugged and capable Apple Watch yet — during Wednesday’s Far Out event. Big, bulky and beautiful, it delivered on everything the rumor mill predicted and more.

Apple Watch Ultra is huge, with a bulky exterior, chunky buttons and a massive display. It boasts a tougher case, designed to withstand knocks from extreme sports, and a battery that can last the distance for endurance races. It features a new Depth Gauge app for scuba and free divers, improved GPS for running and cycling, a redesigned compass app for exploring, and even an 86-decibel siren to let people know if you get lost. Like the new Apple Watch Series 8 models, the Ultra comes with a temperature sensor.

Retailing at $799, Apple Watch Ultra is the Apple Watch that hardcore fitness fans have long been craving. But will its quirky, uncompromising looks catch on with mainstream audiences? Or is the Ultra destined to occupy a niche in the lineup?

Apple Watch Pro will be for endurance sports, not extreme sports

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Apple Watch Pro is may be made from titanium, but it’s made for iron. Ironman.
Apple Watch Pro may be made from titanium, but it’s made for iron. Ironman, that is.
Photo: Cult of Mac/Graham Bower/Jason R. William*

When Apple Watch got a larger screen last year with the Series 7 update, most commentators just yawned. Apparently screen size isn’t everything. It’s what you do with your watch that counts.

So I was surprised to read recent rumors of an Apple Watch Pro with an even bigger screen. Supposedly, this larger model, with its tougher titanium case, will be ideal for extreme sports. But does a bigger screen really help when you’re bungee jumping? And could titanium ever be rugged enough to withstand whitewater rafting?

Something about all this doesn’t add up. Instead, I suspect Cupertino will position the Apple Watch Pro model as a wearable for endurance sports. A bigger watch means a bigger battery. And in endurance sports, you really need that extra juice.

Did the FDA just green-light Apple’s next wearable?

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A product design Apple would be proud of - Signia Active Pro hearing aids.
A product design Apple would be proud of -- Signia Active Pro hearing aids.
Photo: Signia

Apple’s next big thing might not be a car or an AR headset. Thanks to a rule change announced this week by the Food and Drug Administration, Cupertino could soon add hearing aids to its product lineup. The potential market is huge, and Apple stands uniquely positioned to disrupt the status quo.

The new rules allow companies like Apple to sell hearing aids over the counter and online, so buyers can set them up in the comfort of their own homes. Previously, if you wanted to buy hearing aids, your only option was to make an appointment for a hearing test and fitting at a specialist store.

This small change looks set to have a big impact. FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf told CNN he expects the ruling “will unleash the power of American industry to improve the technology.” And there’s one company in particular that has all the know-how to do just that — Apple.

How scientific are Apple’s health and fitness features?

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Putting Apple's health & fitness features under a microscope
Let's put Apple's health and fitness features under a microscope.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac/Rouibi Dhia Eddine Nadjm*

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.

Made for iPhone hearing aids suck, but I bought them anyway

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Made for iPhone hearing aids, like Oticon More, connect directly with your iPhone.
Made for iPhone hearing aids, like Oticon More, connect directly with your iPhone.
Photo: Graham Bower

Imagine if Apple sold AirPods for $5,000, and they were so buggy they kept disconnecting from your iPhone. Sounds crazy, right? But that’s the reality faced by me and millions of other hearing aid users today.

Apple offers a solution for hearing aids called Made for iPhone (MFi). This enables third-party hearing aids to work like regular AirPods. In hardware terms, there’s not much difference between them anyway these days. But while AirPods will set you back just $129, MFi hearing aids cost 30 times more, and they’re far less reliable.

So, why did I just buy a pair? It’s complicated.

How to keep menstrual cycle-tracking data private on iPhone

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Is your cycle tracking data secure?
Is your cycle-tracking data secure?
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

The iPhone Health app’s Cycle Tracking feature provides a simple solution for logging menstrual cycles. If you menstruate, it’s an effective way to monitor your overall health and estimate when you’re most likely to get pregnant.

Given the personal nature of Cycle Tracking data, you need to be sure that it’s stored securely, away from prying eyes. The good news is, Apple’s security for health and fitness data is very robust. There are just a few things you need to know to ensure your data is safe.

Exclusive mockups: Apple Watch Explorer Edition looks rugged and sporty

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A sporty new Apple Watch model could debut this fall
A sporty new Apple Watch model could debut this fall
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

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.

How to master the Siri Remote scroll wheel

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Does the Siri Remote have you going around in circles?
Does the Siri Remote have you going around in circles?
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

When Apple TV 4K launched last year, it had fans salivating. But not for the sharper picture or faster processor. It was the new Siri Remote that caught everyone’s eye. Had Cupertino finally made a TV remote control that didn’t suck?

With its iPod-style scroll wheel, the second-generation Siri Remote promised to make scrolling through content effortless. In reality, the scroll wheel turned out to be hard to use, and lacked support from third-party apps like YouTube.

But don’t throw your remote at the TV just yet. When you get the hang of its quirks, the Siri Remote scroll wheel works surprisingly well. And you can use it with loads of essential apps, including Netflix, HBO Max and, of course, Apple TV+.