Apple Watch has helped save plenty of lives. Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
The Apple Watch repeatedly saves lives around the world, thanks to its health monitoring features and emergency functions.
Here’s a comprehensive roundup of some of the most notable ways Apple Watch has saved people’s lives. From fit teenagers with undiagnosed health problems to car crash victims in danger of drowning, Apple’s smartwatch helps people cheat death in remarkable ways.
Even the rumored super-slim iPhone 17 "Air" may get 12GB RAM to handle AI tasks. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Most of Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17 lineup may receive a significant memory upgrade that will power the next generation of Apple Intelligence features, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Thursday. The iPhone Series 17 RAM boost will even come to the rumored ultra-thin iPhone 17 “Air.”
The Apple Watch is the first major new product launch of the post-Steve Jobs era. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
April 24, 2015: The original Apple Watch launch means consumers, who endured a seven-month wait after the device’s unveiling at a keynote the previous September, can finally strap an Apple wearable onto their wrists.
Apple CEO Tim Cook describes the smartwatch as the “next chapter in Apple history.” Behind the scenes, however, the first Apple Watch launch is a moment long in the making.
These $$69.99 binoculars connect to your iPhone or Android device. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
When you head outside to watch wildlife, you’d better bring a good pair of iPhone binoculars. These HD binoculars from Gllysion offer powerful magnification (up to 12x) and also let you bring home evidence of what you spotted.
Cult of Mac Deals has a small stash of these refurbished iPhone binoculars on sale for $69.99 (regularly $149.99). Don’t miss your chance to see more of the great outdoors.
Technically it was announced in 2014, so it’s a little over ten years. Image: Apple/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
For the 10th anniversary of its launch, we compiled over a decade of Apple Watch history into a quick timeline. Starting with the original three collections — including models in solid 18 karat gold — all the way to today’s far more advanced (and sensible) Apple Watch Series 10 and Ultra 2.
The Apple Watch was the first major product introduction of Tim Cook’s reign as Apple CEO. There was immense pressure on Apple to prove that it could still innovate without Steve Jobs. While the Apple Watch wasn’t as flashy as the iPhone and iPad, it’s grown into an incredible business rife with breakthrough technology, in one of the most physically constrained form factors yet.
Apple Watch users who close their Activity rings on April 24 can earn a special Global Close Your Rings Day limited-edition award. Photo: Apple
With Global Close Your Rings Day upon us, Apple Watch owners around the world showed off the pins they earned Thursday by participating in Apple’s fitness-oriented special event. The day marks a decade of Apple Watch Activity rings helping keep users active for their health.
“Apple Watch has changed the way people think about, monitor and engage with their fitness and health,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer, in a press release Monday announcing the event. “A decade ago, we introduced Activity rings — and since then, Apple Watch has grown to offer an extensive set of features designed to empower every user. People write to us almost every day sharing how Apple Watch has made a difference in their life, from motivating them to move more throughout the day, to changing the trajectory of their health.”
iPhone 16e inadvertently ate into the sales of its Pro sibling. Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
The iPhone 16e already seems to be a winner for Apple. US sales data analyzed by CIRP show the new budget iPhone accounting for 7% of sales in Q1 2025.
This is with the device only launching at the end of February. So, it spent just one month on sale during the entire quarter.
Improvements to TSMC chip-making tech benefit Apple users. Photo: TSMC
TSMC unveiled its A14 chip-making process Wednesday, which is designed to increase the AI capabilities of future smartphones, among more general improvements. The Taiwanese foundry is perhaps best known for making all the processors for iPhone, Mac and other Apple computers.
A14 will follow the N2 process set to go into production later this year, and the A16 process scheduled for 2026.
Actually handling the dummies seemed to really impress people in terms of their remarkable thinness. Photo: Unboxing Therapy
Two new videos surfaced recently that use dummy units to show just how incredibly — even shockingly — thin the iPhone 17 Air will be when it comes out in several months.
“That’s futuristic,” one reviewer exclaimed, adding he doubted Apple will sell any other iPhone Series 17 models when customers see and feel the rumored slim model.
What was the first app you ever downloaded? Photo: Apple
April 23, 2009: Less than a year after opening its virtual doors, the App Store reaches 1 billion downloads.
Peer-to-peer file sharing app Bump becomes the 1 billionth app to be downloaded. As a result of his purchase, 13-year-old Connor Mulcahey of Weston, Connecticut, wins a “1 Billion App Countdown” promotion.
He takes home an assortment of Apple products valued at more than $13,000, including a $10,000 iTunes gift card, a 32GB iPod touch, an Apple Time Capsule wireless router and a 17-inch MacBook Pro.