Apple has released a slew of updates for all of its non-Mac devices, adding the long-promised AirPlay 2 and Messages in iCloud.
If you're curious about Apple design and the world of high-end watches, or just interested in the Apple Watch, check out Jony Ive's interview with Hodinkee Magazine.
Want to listen to a podcast while exercising or doing yardwork, without having your iPhone along? Couple an Apple Watch with one of these five podcast apps and you’ll be able to leave your iPhone behind. But prepare for a few glitches and rough edges.
watchOS 4.3 lets you control your HomePod from your Apple Watch, allows the Apple Watch’s Nightstand mode work in any orientation, and shows more information on the Siri watch face. tvOS 11.3 merely lets fourth-generation Apple TV owners play videos in their original frame rate, and HomePod 11.3 fixes bugs.
Apple has announced a new collection of Apple Watch bands, which will be available later this month. On the slate are new sport bands ($49), woven nylon bands ($49), sport loops ($49), and classic buckles ($149) in spring colors. Apple has also created new bundles, including the space gray aluminum Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) with the Black Sport Loop and the space gray aluminum Apple Watch Nike+ (GPS + Cellular) with the Midnight Fog Nike Sport Loop. The Nike Sport Loop band ($49), which will now be sold separately, will come in new colors, and the Hermès Single Tour Rallye ($439) and Double Tour ($489) bands now display contrasting paint details.
The Apple Watch Series 3 can now track skiing and snowboarding via third-party apps. Apps that include the new support include Snoww, Slopes, Squaw Alpine, Snocru, and Ski Tracks, which can record total vertical descent, horizontal distance, number of runs, average and maximum speeds, total time spent, and calories burned. The metrics take advantage of the Apple Watch Series 3’s built-in GPS and altimeter, which is why earlier models don’t gain similar capabilities.
Apple has updated all of its operating systems — macOS 10.13 High Sierra, iOS 11, watchOS 4, and tvOS 11 — to fix yet another text-crashing bug. Here’s how to get the updates, and our advice on when you should install them.
Another week, another set of Apple operating system updates. Apart from HomePod support in iOS and Siri getting in touch with its inner anchorperson, most of the changes in these updates address security vulnerabilities. You’ll want to install them sooner rather than later.
In keeping watchOS in sync with iOS, Apple has released watchOS 4.2 with support for Apple Pay Cash, HomeKit sprinklers and faucets, and a workout type for downhill snow sports.
The just-released watchOS 4.1 delivers some promised features, including music streaming and the new Radio app for the Apple Watch Series 3, plus connectivity with GymKit-enabled exercise machines. It also fixes a handful of bugs.
In an attempt to address the problems early reviewers experienced with cellular connectivity on the Apple Watch Series 3, Apple has released watchOS 4.0.1 with a fix that prevents it from preferring inappropriate Wi-Fi networks instead of LTE.
With a recent update to Twitter’s iOS app, the company seems to have eliminated its associated Apple Watch app. In a statement, Twitter said that it is “focusing on supporting more robust, media-rich notifications” and is “committed to providing the very best Twitter experience on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Apple Watch.” The company never acknowledged removing the Apple Watch app or suggested that it might return. Twitter is the latest major tech company to abandon its Apple Watch app, following Amazon, eBay, and Google. Perhaps the lesson here is that users see many Apple Watch apps as largely gratuitous. Just because you can build it doesn’t mean you should.
In the Stupid Apple Tricks department, iMore’s Serenity Caldwell has discovered that it is possible to pair a cellular-capable Apple Watch Series 3 with an Android phone, although she admits that it’s a terrible idea. The process involves tricking the Apple Watch by inserting the SIM from an Android phone into an iPhone, pairing the Apple Watch, and then moving the SIM back to the Android phone. It works, but your Apple Watch will lose many features and have awful battery life. In other words: don’t try this at home.
Not sure which of the new Apple devices — the iPhone 8, Apple Watch Series 3, and Apple TV 4K — are worth buying? Josh Centers has found the best reviews from the media outlets that were lucky enough to get pre-release products from Apple.
Here’s some disappointing news from MacRumors about Apple’s promised AirPower charging mat, which Apple says will wirelessly charge the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, Apple Watch Series 3, and AirPods in a special charging case. Since the Apple Watch has always used inductive charging, there was hope that older models would also work with the AirPower mat. That turns out not to be true: the AirPower mat will support only the Apple Watch Series 3. Older models will have to stick with their existing chargers.