At Apple’s September product unveiling, three new iPhones grabbed the spotlight. Tim Cook’s presentation also showcased the new Apple Watch, called “an intelligent guardian for your health.” To introduce the new Apple Watch to the world, Apple turned to American Heart Association president Ivor Benjamin, who applauded the company’s innovation and commitment towards health issues. The most prominent new feature of the Apple Watch Series 4 is that the device is now able to detect a low heart rate and atrial fibrillation. This advances its health detection capabilities far beyond simple exercise tracking. The watch is now able to measure the electrical activity of the heart, enabling the user to take an electrocardiogram simply by putting their finger on the digital crown. The feature, as well as irregular heart rate detection, has received FDA clearance. There is also a next-generation accelerometer gyroscope, which enables the device to detect a fall by the wearer —when a fall is detected, the watch will send an alert prompting you to call emergency services. If the device senses that the user is immobile for more than one minute, the call will be started automatically. This may be ideal for those aging but hip grandparents who don’t want to admit a life alert device might be a wise wearable. Design-wise, Apple Watch Series 4 flaunts a 30 percent larger display—which gives enough real estate for up to eight shortcuts for apps—as well as a thinner body, which make it less bulky on small wrists. The speakers are 50 percent louder and its new S4 chip will have the watch perform twice as fast. The battery life should last for 18 hours and outdoor workout time has increased to six hours. Pricing starts at $399 for the GPS model and...
Apple Update
Refinement, Not Revolution
Come autumn, the world stops to see the next Apple crop. In this case, we mean tech, not fruit! This year has been especially bountiful with the launch of an upgraded Apple Watch, new iPhones, the 10-year celebration of the iPhone and the first keynote to be hosted at the company’s spaceship headquarters in the Steve Jobs Theater. Apple Watch Series 3 Even though the star of the evening was the iPhone X, some other interesting stuff occurred on stage. For example, we met the Apple Watch Series 3, Apple’s newest wearable version, upgraded to LTE connectivity—basically, the watch now works as a standalone device, so you don’t have to keep it connected to your iPhone. If you already own an iPhone and don’t have a watch, this should be the next item in your Apple shopping bag. The gizmo will work with the same phone number that your iPhone has, synchronizing calls, iMessage and music automatically. It will use a separate connection when away from the phone, so you no longer have to carry both your watch and your iPhone next time you hop on your mountain bike or head out for a jog. Visually, not much has changed. The device itself is slightly thicker than the Series 2 model, but that’s to be expected considering the performance upgrades it has stored inside. The Watch Series 3 is decked out with some new band options too—the Sport Loop, designed for outdoor active situations, and Hermès leather straps. Technical specs of the new watch include a new dual-core processor with 70 percent better performance and a new W2 chip that boosts Bluetooth, wireless connectivity and power efficiency. The cellular antenna is the display itself, and there is a tiny electronic SIM card inside for...
Watch Works
Wearable for Seniors
With its user-friendly interface and advanced health and safety features, the Apple Watch Series 2 may be the perfect wearable for senior citizens. While wireless earbuds, dual cameras and the death of the audio jack dominated the post-game analysis of Apple’s 2016 Keynote, the Apple Watch updates demonstrate the genuine potential of today’s wearable technology, especially for senior citizens. While the first Apple Watch proved a bit of a disappointment, the Series 2 raises the bar with enhanced functionality and modern design. Combined with an updated watchOS and a slew of new apps, the Apple Watch Series 2 provides health and safety options perfectly attuned to the needs of today’s aging population. Safe and Sound The original Apple Watch arrived with plenty of choices for security-minded users. Over the last year, developers have been hard at work designing emergency alert apps. Dialing 911 during an emergency may seem relatively straightforward, but apps like HelpAround provide a sort of panic button that notifies authorities and a list of designated contacts when activated. Now the watch itself makes it even easier to reach out during a catastrophe. Pressing and holding the side button activates the watch’s SOS function, placing an immediate call to 911. The watch then automatically sends a message to designated contacts with location information and a map. After the call, the watch itself will display medical ID information, including age and allergies and other important information. The flashiest Apple Watch upgrades announced at the keynote include waterproofing and a new ceramic body almost impervious to the dents and scratches that plague most wearable devices. In terms of safety and security, but the device’s built-in GPS is what really shines. By incorporating the watchOS maps, the Series 2 can also display routes and maps...
Apple’s Fall Crop
iPhone 6S, iPad Pro, TV and more
Apple’s annual fall product preview featured a colorful array of unprecedented announcements kept 6,000 in-person attendees and thousands more online viewers interested for more for almost two hours. “To wear it is to love it.” Everyone knew there would be a new pair of iPhones—the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus—but this is not how the evening started. First came the Apple Watch, now best buddy with high-end fashion house Hermès, in an entirely new collection that features hand-stitched leather straps and a special watch face. The couture device will have a selection of three bands with the stainless steel face: a single leather loop, a double loop, and a cuff. The double loop one comes only with the 38mm face, while the thicker cuff only has the 42mm version. The band leather is available in different colors. Apple also announced new gold and rose gold colors for the Apple Watch Sport, a take on the pricey Apple Watch Edition series, but in anodized aluminum. Moreover, an expanded range of pastel Sport Band colors were presented under the fall collection. This can only mean that more colors are in the works for next year. Starting September 16, the wearable software will be updated to Watch OS 2, providing support for native third-party apps named “third-party complications” that bring notification and other third-party app data on to watch faces, as well as some overall performance improvements. More on that when it’s out. “Thin. Light. Epic.” Then there was the iPad Pro. This (not so) little (anymore) device grew up into a fabulous 12.9-inch screen, with plenty of surprises. Very comfortable for gaming, entertainment, and serious work tool, the new iPad is accessorized with a full-size keyboard and a multi-tasking tool. And if you thought that MacBook...
Apple Springs Forward
2015 Product Previews
Clocks sprung forward announcing spring and so did Apple one week ago in San Francisco, where the latest devices and services were announced. Some of them were expected, having been announced in late 2014, some of them were surprises which kicked up international conversation. A brief review of the company’s numbers reminded the audience why Apple is one of the top companies of the world – 453 retail stores worldwide were visited by 120 million people during the last quarter alone. 700 million iPhones have been sold so far, making the iPhone the top selling device in the world. Apple TV, shy until now, seems to have found a way to outgrow the 25 million units sold so far. HBO Now will launch in early April at $14.99 per month with Apple as exclusive partner. For the event, Apple has lowered the price of its device from $99 to $69. Apple Pay has seen a positive trajectory, too. From the initial six banks that originally supported the initiative, it now has reached over 2,500 banks and won’t be stopping there. Tim Cook announced that soon vending machines will work with Apple Pay. CarPlay is also working its way up; over 40 models of cars will offer it by the end of this year. Perhaps even more interesting is the announcement that every “major” auto manufacturer has committed to using it. CarPlay’s mission is to increase safety while driving by making major phone features easier and safer to use, such as text-to-speech and voice recognition. Apple decided to step up and help health innovation with the new iOS software framework ResearchKit. It was built after close collaboration with 12 research institutions, among which are the University of Oxford and Stanford. This new app lets people volunteer to join medical research studies and also take tests to detect walking in line, vocal variations, or tapping in rhythm to test for Parkinson’s disease. Users decide how to share their data, and can decline to share it with Apple if they wish. ResearchKit will be open source, available next month, but with the first five tests built with it are already available. These help people participate in tests for Parkinson’s, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and breast cancer. A new MacBook entered the scene; it completely stole the spotlight, thought to be reserved this spring for the Apple Watch. For many years now, Apple hasn’t made any changes in MacBook Air’s core design, the top of the line thin-and-light laptop. One port to connect them all The new 12-inch MacBook device is the result of a complete revamp that dumps virtually every conventional port – Thunderbolt, SD card slot, power connector – in favor of a pair: a single USB Type-C connection and an audio jack. The USB-C connector supports power, DisplayPort, VGA, data, and HDMI. Apple focused on wireless connectivity using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth; the company will sell VGA and HDMI adapters separately, meaning that only DisplayPort, charging, and USB 3.1 connectivity is supported natively through the single port. This advance helped turn the 12-inch MacBook into the slimmest, lightest MacBook ever; and a very silent one, too. The new MacBook doesn’t make a sound as it flaunts a fanless design, a feature that required a complete makeover. Under the hood it sports a new energy-efficient Core M Intel processor that sits in a logic board 67 percent smaller than Apple’s previous best. It runs at 1.1GHz that can Turbo Boost to 2.9GHz, consuming a mere 5 watts of power. Intel HD Graphics 5300, 8GB memory and 256GB SSD complete the logic board. The keyboard lies from edge-to-edge with closer together keys than its counterparts. The real novelty is in the engineering effort to create a new keyboard switch that replaces the scissor switches that power most laptop keyboards: the “Butterfly mechanism.” The new mechanism uses a single assembly with a stainless steel...
Apple’s Autumn Crop
iPhone 6, Apple Pay, and Apple Watch
In the technology world, autumn brings with it a new line of Apple devices. From the stage of the Flint Center in Cupertino earlier this week, the launch location of Macintosh and iMac, Tim Cook announced the arrival of the new generation of iPhones and the debut of the company’s much-anticipated first wearable, the Apple Watch. Continuing last year’s trend, the company introduced two models of iPhones: the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus. Their enlarged sizes flaunt curved edges with a thinner figure of 6.8 mm and 7.1 mm, respectively (the iPhone 5S is 7.6 mm thick). The curved glass screen melds smoothly into the aluminum body, and the power button has been moved on the right side of the device for easier one-hand use. With the ability of one-hand use in mind, Apple included a new smart feature called Reachability that minimizes the display, bringing the items from the top of the screen to the bottom of it, in order to reach all of the onscreen by double pressing on the home button. Furthermore, the landscape mode has been intelligently modified into a two-pane display, following the design used on Macs. For instance, when viewing iMessages or email, the left side shows a list view of the messages/emails, while the right side shows the contents of the message/email. The homescreen will also work on the horizontal position. Both phones come with Retina HD Displays that show off 1334 x 750 (326ppi) and 1920 x 1080 (401ppi) respectively. The expected sapphire display cover wasn’t used on the iPhone, but an ion-strengthened glass with an improved polarizer meant for better outdoor viewing. Focused and Fast The rear camera is still at 8-megapixel f/2.2, but adding some new features announce a vastly improved picture quality. One of these features is the Focus Pixel, designed to speed up autofocus, while auto image stabilization will take care of motion blur and hand shakiness. The face detection capabilities have been improved, the exposure is more controllable, and the Panorama feature now supports high-resolution photos of up to 43 megapixels. Video can capture 1080 HD at 60fps, while iOS8 has introduced a new 240fps slo-mo mode and time-lapse video. The front camera has been improved to FaceTime HD with a new sensor and an f/2.2 aperture, capturing 81 percent more light, thus taking better photos in low-light. Between the aluminum and ion-strengthened glass purrs the second generation 64-bit A8 processor; smaller than the A7 in the iPhone 5S, is able to deliver 25 percent faster CPU performance while being 50 percent more energy efficient. The new M8 coprocessor measures data from the accelerometer, compass, and gyroscope, and introduced the barometer that measures elevation, in addition to steps taken and distance traveled. The two chips and the Apple gaming technology, Metal, support developers in creating console-like games on the smartphone. Connectivity was improved to offer faster LTE reaching up to 150 Mbps. The new iPhones include support for Voice over LTE (VoLTE) which translates to higher-quality phone calls over LTE and, for the first time, through VoLTE, users on CDMA networks like Verizon will be able to use voice and data simultaneously. Wi-Fi 802.11ac is three times faster than its predecessor, and the iPhone 6 supports calls over Wi-Fi, a solution to the situation where a cellular connection is lacking. Can Apple Pay make credit cards passé? Touch ID is present on both devices and is an integral part of Apple’s new Apple Pay mobile payments initiative using its Near Field Communication (NFC) antenna. The three terms used to describe the service are Easy, Secure, and Private. It’s easy because with just a fingerprint, Apple Pay allows users to pay at already thousands of retail stores, by simply waving the newer iPhone or Apple Watch in front of a reader. For security, the owner’s thumbprint scan on the smartphone is required before...
