What to expect from Apple Watch in 2024: Series X

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What to watch for in 2024: The tenth anniversary of Apple Watch.
What to watch for in 2024: The 10th anniversary of Apple Watch.
Photo illustration: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

2024 looks like a big year for Apple Watch. The world’s most popular wearable could get the biggest redesign in its 10-year history in the form of a device potentially called “Apple Watch Series X” or simply “Apple Watch X.”

That’s excellent news, because 2023 was not a great year for Apple Watch. Sure, we got a fresh new look with watchOS 10. But on the hardware side, the updates to Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 seem pretty minor. And then there’s the looming U.S. ban on Apple Watch imports and exports due to a patent dispute.

So, what should we expect from the Apple Watch 2024 lineup?

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+.

watchOS 9 brings massive upgrade to Workout app and other health improvements

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Runners get some much-needed love in watchOS 9
Runners get some much-needed love in watchOS 9.
Photo: Apple

WWDC22 - Brought to you by CleanMyMac XApple revealed what it has up its sleeve for Apple Watch during its WWDC22 keynote Monday. watchOS 9 includes some fun new watch faces and various other minor additions. But the Workout app really stole the show with a host of welcome new features.

Apple is taking on fitness specialists like Garmin with prosumer experiences such as Heart Rate Zone training, Running Form Metrics, Custom Workouts and Kickboard Detection for swimmers. Could this newfound interest in elite fitness suggest a rugged Explorer Edition Apple Watch will debut in the fall?

How to take stunning selfies with the Apple Watch Camera Remote app

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The Camera Remote app with raise your selfie game
The Camera Remote app will take your selfies to a whole new level.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Everyone knows Apple Watch is an excellent health and fitness companion. But did you know it’s also handy for taking selfies? That’s thanks to Apple Watch’s best kept secret: the Camera Remote app.

This indispensable watch app will raise your selfie game, enabling you to take more flattering shots, with better compositions, more interesting poses and much, much more.

I use it all the time to take photos for Cult of Mac, and I’ve learned a few tricks along the way. So here’s my definitive guide to taking better selfies with Apple Watch.

Why you’re wrong about Apple Watch Series 7

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Have you been too hard on Apple Watch Series 7?
Have you been too hard on Apple Watch Series 7?
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Six months after its launch, people are still griping about Apple Watch Series 7. Even our own Lewis and Erfon recently agreed on The CultCast that Series 7 wasn’t worth the upgrade.

Many have moaned that it lacks new features, with some even suggesting it was a last-minute rush-job on Cupertino’s part. Personally, I don’t believe a word of it. I love my Series 7 and I think the haters have got it all wrong. Here’s why.

The radical evolution of watchOS and what it tells us about Apple’s future

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I've seen the future and it's Apple Watch: The radical evolution of watchOS and what it tells us about Apple’s future.
I've seen the future and it's Apple Watch.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Unveiled at a special event way back in 2014, the first Apple Watch looked similar to the wearable we know and love today. But looks can be deceiving. Take the Digital Crown and Side Button, for example. Their design may not have changed, but their functionality is now very different.

Apple Watch went through a radical evolution over the past eight years. What started out as an “intimate way to connect and communicate,” has become primarily a health and fitness device.

This pivot is uncharacteristic of Apple. Products like iPod, iPhone and iPad launched with a clear vision and remained true to it. The Apple Watch’s evolution suggests a shift in Cupertino’s approach to new products, and provides tantalizing clues to the future of the company’s rumored next platform launch: realityOS.

The Mac is back, with its best lineup in years

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The Mac lineup has never looked better.
The Mac was neglected today, but there's still some exciting stuff in the works.
Photo: Apple

In 2010, Steve Jobs proudly proclaimed Apple had become a “mobile device company.” Tim Cook went further, dismissing anything that wasn’t a mobile device as a “hobby project.” It sounded like the Mac’s days were numbered. At Cult of Mac, we even ran a story on how to replace your Mac with an iPad.

How things have changed. With Tuesday’s launch of the Mac Studio, Apple completed the best Mac lineup we’ve seen in more than a decade. The new M1 Ultra chip offers unprecedented desktop performance. And longtime Mac fans will welcome the return of Apple’s Studio Display monitors.

The Mac is most definitely back. So what happened? Why did Cupertino fall out of love with the Mac, and what prompted the change of heart?

How to use Apple Watch blood oxygen sensor, and what it’s good for

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The Blood Oxygen app is not for medical use. So what exactly is it for?
The Blood Oxygen app is not for medical use. So what exactly is it for?
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

The blood oxygen sensor featured in Apple Watch Series 6 and 7 is “not intended for medical use,” Apple says. That seems odd, considering that low blood oxygen is a serious medical condition. If the watch’s monitor is not for medical use, then what exactly is it for?

In this post, we’ll look at what blood oxygen is, how Apple Watch measures it, how the device compares to medical-grade alternatives, and what you can actually use it for.

How to make your New Year’s resolution stick with Apple Fitness+

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Make 2022 the year you achieve your fitness goals
Make 2022 the year you achieve your fitness goals.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

If your New Year’s resolution is to get in shape in 2022, Apple Fitness+ provides the perfect solution. Tightly integrated with Apple Watch, it offers hundreds of excellent video workouts you can do at home right now. But the question is, will you?

As the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Subscribing to Fitness+ is all very well, but it’ll be a waste of money if you lose interest after a week.

Unfortunately, sticking to a New Year’s resolution isn’t easy. That’s probably why almost 50% of them fail in the first year.

If you want to smash your fitness goals in 2022, you need to start by getting your head in the right place. And that’s where well-formed outcomes can help. They are goals that meet certain essential criteria identified by psychologists in the 1980s using a technique called neuro-linguistic programming, or NLP.

Well-formed outcomes provide a framework that can massively increase your chances of achieving your goal. And all you need to do to turn your resolution into a well-formed outcome is ask yourself these six questions.

How to publish an ebook on Apple Books with Pages

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How to turn a Pages document into a stunning ebook.
Turn your Pages document into a stunning ebook.
Image: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Creating a killer app isn’t the only way to make an honest buck in the Apple ecosystem. You can publish an ebook quickly and easily on Apple Books.

It’s a straightforward way to sell your ideas, and doesn’t require any coding. In fact, the only software you need is probably installed on your Mac already: Pages. You still need to do the heavy lifting when it comes to the writing. But publishing an ebook using Pages takes very little effort. And the ebooks you create support a surprising amount of functionality.

This guide will show you how to publish an ebook to Apple Books using Pages.

The Touch Bar was doomed from the start. There was no escape.

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Was the Touch Bar out of touch with pro users needs?
Was the Touch Bar out of touch with pro users’ needs?
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

The MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar was a technological marvel in its day. It brought the magic of multi-touch to macOS and, with its stand-alone T1 chipset, it put ARM-based Apple Silicon inside the MacBook when the M1 chip was still just a twinkle in Cupertino’s eye.

There’s no doubt it was a clever piece of engineering, but it proved unpopular with pro users. Many missed the tactile feedback of the traditional Escape key and function keys.

Apple rejigged things last year, shrinking the Touch Bar to make room for a physical escape key, but it was too little too late. Many will be glad to see the Touch Bar go, but I’m gonna miss that little sliver of multi-touch magic at the top of my keyboard.

The real Apple Watch Series 7 looks way nicer than those fugly mockups

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Series 7 is an evolution rather, not a revolution. And that's a good thing.
Series 7 is an evolution rather, not a revolution. And that's a good thing.
Photo: Apple

As expected, the new Apple Watch Series 7 features a bigger, brighter display and slimmer bezels. Fortunately, that’s about the only thing the rumors got right.

Mockups suggesting the new wearable would come with clunky, flat sides turned out to be way off the mark. The design of Series 7 is more evolution than revolution, taking the classic Apple Watch look and refining it to become more elegant than ever.

Why I don’t want new health sensors in Apple Watch Series 7

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Does Apple Watch need more health sensors?
Does Apple Watch need more health sensors?
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Since Apple Watch gets a hardware update like clockwork every fall, it’s a safe bet we’ll see a Series 7 model next month alongside the iPhone 13. There are plenty of rumors about what to expect, including a better display and a new flat-edged design, both of which sound great to me.

But I’m less keen on the prospect that Apple Watch Series 7 might come with additional health sensors. Here’s why.

watchOS 8 adds new Mindfulness app and Portrait watch face

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watchOS introduces a new Portrait mode watch face with depth effect
watchOS introduces a new Portrait mode watch face with depth effect
Photo: Apple

We got our first glimpse of the OS that will be gracing everyone’s wrists this fall when Apple showed off watchOS 8 during Monday’s WWDC keynote.

This update looks like more of an evolution than a revolution. Text editing gets a little easier.  And we’ll get various small enhancements for the apps we already know and love, like photo sharing and a redesigned Music app.

Does being gay make Tim Cook a better CEO?

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Apple CEO Tim Cook calls being gay
Tim Cook calls being gay "God's greatest gift."
Photo: thierry ehrmann/Flickr CC

Since he came out as gay eight years ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook has led the company through the most successful period in its history. Cook once said he wanted to prove you can “be gay and still go on and do some big jobs in life.” He’s certainly done that.

But maybe there’s more to this story than overcoming prejudice. In 2018, Cook told CNN that being gay is “God’s greatest gift to me.” Far from a disadvantage, could being gay actually be an instrumental part of his success?

As a gay man myself, Cook has always been an inspiration for me. So to celebrate Pride Month, here’s why I think being gay made him a better CEO.

Mixed-reality Apple glasses could add a new dimension to fitness

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How augmented reality could augment your workout
Will augmented reality augment your workouts?
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Like Apple Watch before it, Cupertino’s much-anticipated mixed-reality headset looks set to be another leap forward for fitness wearables.

Mixed reality is already commonplace in TV sports. You see it every time the virtual line of scrimmage is superimposed onto a football field. Now imagine that the players on the field can see that virtual line too, just like the viewers at home. That’s exactly what Apple’s latest gadget could deliver, adding a whole new dimension to sports and fitness.