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Apple watchOS 4 comes to your wrist September 19th
It won't be too long before you can give watchOS 4 a spin -- Apple has announced that the upgrade will arrive on September 19th for all Watch models. This isn't as dramatic a release as last year's (which added on-device apps and a revamped interface), but it has more than a few tangible improvements, particularly if you're a health or fitness maven -- including a few that weren't known until now.
iOS 11 leak reveals the LTE-enabled Apple Watch
A copy of iOS 11 in its final development stage has leaked online, and 9to5mac has dissected the software to reveal the secrets we're bound to hear during Apple's upcoming event. One of the publication's most notable discoveries is an image of what seems to be the LTE-enabled Apple Watch from within the wearable's app. It has a black Sport band, which indicates that the current bands will also fit the new model, and an eye-catching red Digital Crown. The most telling part of the image, though, is the watchface: it has a signal indicator in the middle that signifies cellular connection, as well as a phone and a navigation icon.
What to expect from Apple's iPhone event on September 12th
Another September, another iPhone event, right? Well, not exactly. Apple celebrated the iPhone's 10th anniversary earlier this year, and all of the rumors have pointed to a radically new and potentially very expensive smartphone to celebrate that milestone. It's all but certain we'll see this new phone, but that's hardly all that we expect Apple to reveal next Tuesday, at the first event in the company's brand-new headquarters. We could see two additional iPhones, Apple Watch updates, an upgraded Apple TV, details on the forthcoming HomePod speaker and possibly more. Apple often likes to surprise us, after all. Here's what we think Tim Cook and company will bring to the table on Tuesday.
Red Sox reportedly used Apple Watch to steal Yankees' signals
The Cardinals aren't the only Major League Baseball team accused of using technological cheats. According to the New York Times, the league has determined that the Boston Red Sox cheated in numerous games against the New York Yankees (who filed a complaint) and other teams by using the Apple Watch to relay the hand signals that catchers and pitchers use to communicate intended pitches. Investigators learned that Red Sox trainers received signals from video replay staff and used the smartwatch to quietly relay that info to the team.
Sports brands are giving wearables another shot at success
Wearables are only as good as the apps they're compatible with. And companies making health-focused products, like smartwatches, fitness bands and even hybrids of these two, are starting to realize that. But in order to have applications that lure people to your platform, whether you're Apple, Samsung or Fitbit, often it's better if you have a hand in developing them. That's why, especially at IFA 2017, many tech firms are teaming up with brands from different industries to add a new element of usefulness to their wearables. In some cases, that often includes special-edition products created between two companies.
Apple's fitness lab has collected 66,000 hours of exercise data
Men's Health writer Ben Court got to take a look around Apple's not-so-secret-anymore exercise lab and the company's director of fitness for health technologies had some bold claims about the work the lab has done. Apple's Jay Blahnik told Court, "Our lab has collected more data on activity and exercise than any other human performance study in history. Over the past five years, we've logged 33,000 sessions with over 66,000 hours of data, involving more than 10,000 unique participants."
The smartwatch market is actually performing pretty well
While the wearables field is proving a tough space for many companies, smartwatches are apparently doing quite well. In a report from International Data Corporation on this year's second quarter earnings, sales numbers show that wearables are up 10.3 percent year over year. That number includes a small -- nearly one percent -- but notable first time drop in annual growth for basic wearables, like most Fitbit trackers, that don't run third party apps. On the other side of that, though, smartwatch growth topped 60 percent this quarter compared to the same time last year.
Apple will unveil the next iPhone on September 12th at its new campus
To the surprise of almost no one, Apple has announced it'll be holding its annual iPhone event on Tuesday, September 12th. It'll be the first event hosted at Apple's new "spaceship" campus in Cupertino, California. Sure, Apple didn't say exactly what to expect, but given that the company has introduced a new iPhone around this timeframe for the last six years, it's a pretty safe bet we'll be seeing new mobile phones. That includes the "iPhone 8," a device that's expected to be radically different from its predecessors. Improvements rumored include an edge-to-edge OLED screen, face detection, wireless charging, a virtual home button and an updated dual-camera system.
Neato's newest Botvac integrates with your connected home
We're at a point where it's simply not enough for your robotic vacuum cleaner to tidy up your floors at set times each week. Now, it's vitally important that your smart home itself can summon and dismiss your vacuum cleaner at will. Which is why Neato is making such a big deal that its latest Botvac, the D7 Connected, can blend so seamlessly into your life.
Apple Watch will soon support a huge variety of workouts
Apple already mentioned that watchOS 4 will do more to accommodate fitness fans, but it's now clear that there's more coming for the exercise crowd... a lot more. Thanks to some sleuthing in the latest iOS 11 beta's code, iHelp BR has found assets hinting that the Apple Watch will support virtually every workout under the Sun. Some of them are common sports or fitness activities, such as boxing, football, core training and pilates, but others aren't what you'd normally expect in a fitness-savvy watch. Ever wanted to monitor your bowling or sailing? Your Apple Watch will help.
Aetna may offer customers a free Apple Watch as a perk
Health insurer Aetna is already giving its workers free Apple Watches (plus a handful of regular customers), but it now looks ready to expand those bonuses to everyone. CNBC sources understand that Aetna is in talks with Apple to offer a free or discounted Watch as a perk to all eligible customers -- no small number when Aetna covers 23 million people. It's not certain what the deal would look like, but Aetna would like to hand out wristwear early in 2018.
Code hints the next Apple TV will support 4K and HDR
There have been murmurs of a 4K Apple TV and even hints of 4K HDR videos on iTunes, but now we have evidence tying it all together. Remember that incredibly revealing HomePod firmware? Developer Guilherme Rambo has sifted through it to discover references to both 4K and HDR support in an upcoming Apple TV model. And the HDR support is particularly broad, too. The media player's code mentions support for Dolby Vision, HDR10 and Hybrid Log-Gamma formats, so the odds are that HDR's enhanced picture quality will be available even if your TV only has limited compatibility.
The next Apple Watch might not need an iPhone for data
Well, Apple Watch fans have more to look forward to than just a new operating system. According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple will release a version of its Watch with cellular network support built-in by year's end, relieving users of the need to carry their iPhones around. Three words: it's about time.
Xiaomi now sells more wearables than Apple or Fitbit
It hasn't been a great time for Fitbit lately, and reports that rival Xiaomi has now taken the lead in worldwide wearable device sales can't be welcome news for the company. Findings from research firm Strategy Analytics show that second quarter earnings reports reveal a shuffled ranking of the major wearables producers, with Xiaomi now on top for the first time.
The wearables battlefield is strewn with casualties
In business, the phrase "we are reviewing strategic options" is a useful sign that shutters are being drawn. Wareable reports that those words were uttered by TomTom CEO Harold Goddijn when discussing his company's wearables division. Sales of its running watches have fallen by 20 percent in a year, and Goddijn wants to "focus" on TomTom's core businesses. It's likely that TomTom will exit the wrist-worn hardware market at some point soon, and it won't be alone.
Take HomeKit devices for a spin at a handful of Apple Stores
As a mark of just how serious Apple is about its smart home initiatives, the company has built HomeKit into 46 of its brick and mortar stores. That means if you stop into the Union Square location in San Francisco or the World Trade Center and Williamsburg stores in New York you'll be able to give the IoT suite a test run, TechCrunch writes. Some 28 other stores throughout the country will have the demos up and running. If you don't have one of the fancy stores, you'll have to settle for non-interactive literature and the like. Ugh.
Apple quietly extends first-gen Watch warranty to three years
The first-generation Apple Watch suffered from a few problems, including "ballooning batteries" that ended up displacing a few users' screens. In response, Apple quietly extended service coverage on first-gen device battery issues for an extra year. Now, they've done it again in response to another issue: According to MacRumors, first-generation Apple Watch owners can receive a free repair if the back cover of their device separates from the watch.
Healbe's GoBe 2 calorie tracker teases the future of wearables
Shortly before Apple's most recent developer conference, rumors began to circulate about the next generation of its watch. Sources suggested that the device would demonstrate a form of noninvasive glucose monitoring -- a way to check blood sugar levels without breaching the skin. If possible, the Apple Watch Series 3 would become an essential product for 29 million American diabetics, overnight. It came to nothing, of course, but people are still wondering if there's a way for smartwatches to sniff our blood and tell us their findings. Thing is, there's already a watch that professes to do a similar task: the controversial Healbe GoBe.
Watch Apple's WWDC 2017 keynote in 15 minutes
What's that? You weren't able to sit through nearly three hours of Apple news earlier today as the company kicked off this year's Worldwide Developers Conference? No worries. We've condensed all the watchOS, macOS, iOS, MacBook, iMac and iPad news into a convenient 15-minute clip. And yes, we made room for that newfangled Siri speaker, the HomePod. Sit back, relax and catch up on what you missed without sacrificing a couple hours to the task. Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!
Apple's watchOS improvements focus on fitness and Siri
Apple definitely isn't slowing down with watchOS updates now that the Apple Watch is relatively established. It's introducing watchOS 4, a big update that overhauls both the look and several key features -- including the watch face itself. To start, there's a new Siri-powered watch face that automatically displays updates based on context. You'll get traffic alerts if you're about to head out to work, for example. There are also kaleidoscope and Toy Story faces if you're feeling particularly trippy or youthful.
