Showing posts with label apple watch. Show all posts

Apple's WWDC 2016 Keynote Event: How To Watch Online




Apple's WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) is nearly here! The annual event held by Apple in San Francisco, California, is the time of the year when Apple allows thousands of developers from all around the world to meet with Apple engineers and attend workshops.

Apple kick starts the event with a Keynote presentation that announces what to come from Apple later in the year, relating to software updates. 

This year, Apple is expected to unveil the latest (work-in-progress) updates to iOS, OS X, WatchOS and more... 

Apple will live stream the event on their website and on Apple TV, on June 13th at 10 a.m. PDT. 

If you'd like to watch the Keynote event with commentary from some of the best in tech, I'd recommend you check out TWiT.TV live coverage of the event. 

What Apple Announced Today (March 21st Apple Event)

Apple held a Media Event today in Cupertino.  Here are my live key notes of what was announced!

For full details, be sure to check Apple.com

--

40 years in 40 seconds video plays. Apple turns 40 on April 1st 2016.

Tim Cook talks about privacy and encryption.

Lisa Jackson, head of environment on stage. Talks about Apple's goal to become 100% renewable. At the moment 93% of Apple offices run on renewable energy. Also talks about recycling and reusing iPhone's.

Health: Jeff Williams talks about ResearchKit.
Apple launching CareKit - available in April.

Apple Watch: Top selling smartwatch in the world. New Apple Watch bands! Woven Nylon. Apple Watch price drops to starting from $299.

Apple TV: Talk about apps. tvOS - update: folders, photo library & live photos,  dictation, Siri for App Store. tvOS 9.2 available today.

iPhone: New 4-inch. Called iPhone SE. Includes Rose Gold finish color option. Looks like iPhone 5s. A9 64-bit chip, M9 co-processor. Same CPU performance as iPhone 6s. 12-megapixel iSight Camera. Battery improvements. Includes features like Live Photos and Retina Flash. Capture 4K video. Touch ID. Price starts from $399 (16GB). Orders from March 24th - available March 31st.

iOS 9.3: new Night Shift color mode to make screen warmer looking which might make you sleep better at night. Notes: Passcode protect. Heath: app suggestions. Top stories in News. Apple Music in Car Play. iPad in the classroom improvements in iOS 9.3. iOS 9.3 available today!

iPad: Customers love the iPad Pro. New 9.7 inch iPad Pro! 40% less reflective. 25% brighter than iPad Air 2. 25% greater color saturation. True color tone display. 4-speakers. Twice volume of iPad Air 2. A9X 64-bit chip. M9 co-processor. Smart keyboard for 9.7 inch display. Pencil. Other accessories include: Lightning SD card reader, USB Camera reader. 12 megapixel iSight camera. 4K video recording. True tone flash on iPad! Live photos. Now also in Rose Gold. $599 for 32GB, $749 - 128GB, $899 - 256GB (New option) - Wi-Fi models. Order from March 24, ships on March 31.



How To Watch Today's Apple Keynote Event Live!


Apple is holding a media event today (March 21st) at 10 a.m. PDT. 

It's been rumored that Apple will announce a new smaller size 4-inch-iPhone with the internals of an iPhone 6 or 6s. A new 9.7 inch iPad Pro. Possibly new Apple Watch bands, and possibly the release of iOS 9.3. 

Apple will live stream the event from their website and on Apple TV. Check Apple's Event page for more details


Apple To Hold Media Event On March 21st


Apple has sent out invites for a March 21st event in Cupertino. The invite features the tag line "Let us loop you in", with an Apple logo background image in their device colors of Silver, Space Gray, Gold, and Rose Gold.

It has been rumored that Apple will announce the new iPhone SE; a 4-inch iPhone with the abilities of the iPhone 6s in a smaller case.

A new 9.7 inch iPad, which may pack all the features of the iPad Pro in the smaller shell.

New Apple Watch bands.

iOS 9.3 and possible more...

The Keynote event, which will also be lived streamed via Apple's website and on Apple TV, begins at 10 a.m. PDT on March 21st.

> View Apple Events webpage.


How To Track Your Sleep On Your Apple Watch

Sleep++ promo image.
The Apple Watch can tap you with notifications and other important information, show your messages, you can take a call on the watch, you can track your daily fitness and measure your heart rate, and so much more... But it wasn't really designed to track sleeping. This is mainly for a couple of reasons; 1, you'd have to wear your Apple Watch while you sleep, which might be uncomfortable. And 2, the main reason, at night is when you'll need to charge your Apple Watch so it's ready for the next day.

However, the Apple Watch, with the help of a third party app, is more than capable of tracking you sleep. And since it only takes the Apple Watch two and a half hours to fully charge to 100%, you might be able to charge it at night while you get ready for bed and in the morning while you get ready for work or etc... And since for many users, the Apple Watch's battery is still left with at least a quarter or even third by the end of the night, it won't take the Watch a long time to charge, so you could theoretically wear your Apple Watch while you sleep.  

Sleep++ by Cross Forward Consulting, LLC, is an Apple Watch app designed to track and measure your sleep. Sleep++ uses the motion tracking capabilities of the Apple Watch to measure the duration and quality of your sleep.

To track your sleeping with Sleep++ all you have to do is: wear your Apple Watch as you sleep, tell the app that you are going to sleep, and then when you wake up. Sleep++ will measure your movement during the night and then analyze your sleeping data and give you a graph and detailed breakdown, including the duration, how long you were restful, restless, awake, and between what times you got your best sleep.

I went ahead and tried out Sleep++. The app recommends that you put your Apple Watch into Airplane mode to preserve battery. As for effects on battery, out of the couple of times that I used that app, I saw a battery drop on average around 4-6% (with the Apple Watch in Airplane mode). Which is not too bad at all.

I will note a couple of things, first, make sure you give permission on your iPhone for Sleep++ to access your Movement and Fitness data - this is required for the app to work. Second, press 'Start Sleeping' on the Apple Watch app before you activate Airplane mode and then 'Stop Sleeping' after you've switched off Airplane mode, because I found that if I put the Watch into Airplane mode first, the data would never copy over to the app on the iPhone.

Sleep++ promo image.
As for the data Sleep++ collected for me during the night, it was interesting but I'm not sure how useful the data would really be for a continuos use. Sleep++ shows you the duration you were 'asleep' (because you told the app), The total time that your were restful, restless, and between what time you had your 'best sleep'. The graph that accompanies the data, shows you on a timescale, the points where in the night you had 'light sleep', or were restless.

An issue I had with Sleep++ was, while the app supports saving data to HealthKit, even with the setting on, there was no data added to the Health app. So there may be a bug there.

Sleep++ did seem to measure my moment well during the night, however I can't be certain - as I was asleep. And it was interesting data to see - even if I only use the app a few times. If you don't think you're getting a good nights sleep - try the app! You may find that you're quite restless during the night and might need to change things up a little to get a better nights sleep.

Sleep++ is FREE to download for iPhone (and Apple Watch) from the App Store.

> View Sleep++ in the App Store



Fix Apple Watch Digital Touch Taps & Drawings Not Sending

Image credit: Apple, Inc.
The one time (in a long time) that I actually used the Digital Touch feature on the Apple Watch to send a few taps and a drawing and the other person didn't receive any of them. Thanks Apple. It can be so frustrating when a feature of a device doesn't work how it should. There does seem to be a simple fix that should work for many - however - what good is that really?! Because you won't know that your device is failing until someone tells you. Anyway, if you have noticed that your Apple Watch Digital taps and drawing haven't seemed to be sending, try this quick fix:

Open the 'Settings' app on your iPhone > then scroll down to and tap 'Messages' > then toggle off 'iMessage' > then switch 'iMessage' back on (after a few seconds). The re-activation of iMessage seems to fix the problem and then may even send all your recent failed digital touch messages through.

How To Manage Notifications On Apple Watch


Notifications on your wrist can be very helpful. It's convenient to get the information you need at just a raise of a wrist. But notifications when set up wrong can be anything but useful - they can be annoying! Which is why it's important to take the time to properly set up the Notification settings for your iPhone and Apple Watch.

The type of useful notifications are the things that give you important time relevant information - like; messages, reminders, calendar alerts, phone calls, possibly fitness alerts (if you are really into that) and maybe some social media alerts - like messaging apps.

To adjust Notification settings for your Apple Watch, you'll need to open the 'Apple Watch' app on your iPhone.

Make sure you are on the 'My Watch' page, then tap 'Notifications'. The Apple Watch is normally set to mirror notifications from your iPhone, but if you let slide a lot of notifications (specially from unimportant third-party apps) on your iPhone - you may want to redefine what you let through to your wrist.

The Notification settings are divided into Apple apps and third-party-apps. Now just simply go through the list of all your apps and decide whether or not you want that apps notifications to alert you on your Apple Watch.

The other important thing to know is - how to mute notifications. For when you don't want distractions - like when you are in a important meeting, at the cinemas, or maybe on a date - you should put your Apple Watch in Do Not Disturb mode.

To activate Do Not Disturb mode, from your watch face, slide up from the bottom of the screen. On the 'Settings' glance pane, tap the Crescent Moon button - this will switch on Do Not Disturb mode. The settings for Do Not Disturb will mirror your iPhone. You can set repeat calls to alert you or your favorites list. To adjust those settings, go to 'Settings > Do Not Disturb' on your iPhone.  


Apple Releases Official Apple Watch Charging Dock

If you are looking for a charging dock for your Apple Watch - Apple has now released their own official product.

The Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Dock comes in white and is disc shaped with the charging magnet in the center.

You can lay your Apple Watch down or raise the magnet up to place the watch on its side, which is ideal for Nightstand mode.

The Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Dock is compatible with the 38 and 42 mm Apple Watch. The Dock is priced at USD$79 and is available on Apple.com.



How To Delete Notifications On Apple Watch


When you miss a notification on Apple watch, a red dot will appear at the top of your watch face screen. Swipe down on your watch face to show all missed Notifications. There is also a few ways to clear the missed notifications on the Apple Watch.
 
1. Click and view the Notification. 

2. Swipe across the Notification to the left, then tap the Clear button. 

3. Or, to clear ALL Notifications, Force Touch the screen, then tap the 'Clear All' button.
 

WatchOS 2.0.1 Update Released For Apple Watch


Along with the new iOS 9.1 and OS X El Capitan 10.11.1 updates releases today, Apple also has released a software upgrade for the Apple Watch. 

The Apple Watch update includes fixes for software updates, battery performance, fixed issues for syncing iOS Calendar events to iPhone, issue that caused Digital Touch to send from email instead of phone number, and more... 

To update your Apple Watch, open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, then on the 'My Watch' tab, tap 'General', 'Software Update'.



Midnight Blue Sport Band on Stainless Steel Apple Watch Review


Apple last month released some new colors to the Sport Band Apple Watch range. One of the new colors is 'Midnight Blue'. This band was first seen by many on director J.J. Abrams at a Star Wars panel. 

Now, you can buy the Midnight Blue Sport Band with the new Aluminum Gold Apple Watch Sport, or on its own, separately. 

The Midnight Blue Sport Band lives up to its name - it is a dark colored blue, but light enough to distinguish it from the Black Sport Band and it's also appears much lighter in the daylight. Check out the unboxing and review on the video above with the Midnight Blue Sport Band attached to the Stainless Steel Apple Watch. 



Facebook Messenger Now On Apple Watch


Facebook Messenger is now available on Apple Watch! It was announced that Facebook would be making a Apple Watch App for Messenger at the September 2015 Apple Keynote Event.

Today's update now allows Messenger users to install the app on their Apple Watch running watchOS 2. After installing the Messenger update from the App Store, users will need to go to the Apple Watch app on their iPhone, find and tap the Messenger app in the list, then switch on "Show App on Apple Watch".

With Messenger on Apple Watch, users can now; view existing messages, reply to messages with preset text, your voice, Messenger Stickers, Your Location, or a Thumbs Up. You cannot, however, create a new conversation with someone who's not in your recent messages from Apple Watch.      

The Facebook Messenger [App Store Link] update for iOS 9 and watchOS 2 is now available in the App Store.  


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